Adrift
by Archdruid-Sephiroth
Summary: Post 3I: Shinji, Asuka and Rei, now gifted with angelic powers attempt to survive in a world of nightmares. What follows is quest to return what once was, and a war that could reshape the entire planet. SxA Contains Adult Language, Violence, and Adult Content.
1. Prologue Tears of Blood

**Official Story Disclaimer: ** I have never owned nor will I ever own Evangelion. This story is for entertainment purposes only and the author claims no ownership over original source material nor any royalty rights thereof. Evangelion is copyrighted and owned by GAINAX.

* * *

**0: Prologue**

* * *

A cold wind drifted across the red sands of the Japanese shoreline. The sea of LCL lapped gently upon the beach, advancing and receding in an almost perfect rhythm. Upon the shore line two figures lay, as if washed ashore by the tide. One, an adolescent boy with dark brown hair wearing dark pants and a white button down shirt, and the second a girl with long red hair wearing a skin tight red bodysuit. The boy was thin but not anorexic by any means, and the girl was shapely but obviously young.

As the boy opened his eyes, he was greeted with a blood red sky, punctuated by what appeared to be a ring, not unlike the rings of Saturn, only this one was also crimson in color. Slowly he sat up taking note of the orange ocean, cool breeze and something unusual in the distance.

Miles off shore and split in half was a giant head. He recognized the head of course as the apparition of a girl he knew. It was part of the result of Instrumentality... the very thing that was supposed to "save" mankind. In reality, the boy felt it doomed it. The world was dead, and he was likely one of the few who chose to return to this world.

As his senses became clearer, he turned to his left and he saw the girl laying there. He recognized her too of course. She was the source of much of his rage, and at the same time, much of his admiration. He believed he hated her as much as he tried to love her. In his disgust he did the only thing that would come to his mind.

As he straddled her and wrapped his thin fingers around her throat, he felt only grim satisfaction. Soon she would struggle no more… images of what she had done to him in the past flooded his mind. He re-experienced all the humiliation, the jeering, the contempt… but then something happened he did not expect.

His strength was not with him, and suddenly he was roused from his flashbacks by a gentle touch to his face. It was her hand… never once had she been gentle with him. He stared into her one visible eye, her left was covered with a bandage. The brilliant sapphire right he was used to seeing seemed dulled, and her expression was almost sad, as if she knew she deserved what was being handed to her and simply accepted that this could be her end. The look of sadness and loss was what sapped the strength of the former third child of NERV.

The feelings of being that same pathetic child that was forced to pilot a massive war machine against heaven itself flooded back to him, and he began to sob. Salty tears fell from his face onto the face of the girl beneath him. Unable to control it anymore, he let go and slumped forward on top of her.

The hand that was at his face gently laid upon his back, and she finally spoke to him… though the phrase could have been directed at anything, the boy knew what it was she was speaking off… and it only upset him more.

"I feel… sick."

* * *

**Archdruid Sephiroth Presents**

**A Post Third Impact Story**

**Adrift**

* * *

**Act I: Rebirth**

* * *

**I: Tears of Blood**

* * *

_The world had changed… this I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. No traffic could be heard, no planes flew in the sky, the trains were not running, no machine sounds filled the air. The only sounds to be heard now were the occasional drips from recent rains, the low roll of the sea, and the howls of the wind when it blew._

_It was about three hours after I awoke on the shore of what used to be Tokyo-3 that I finally had the strength to get up and do something about our situation. The fortress city was destroyed, in part by the JSSDF, in part by the rise of the Black Moon, and the rest of the damage was undoubtedly caused by Third Impact itself. There would be no return to what was… and that left me in an arena I was unfamiliar with at that time; survival, without current technology._

_Asuka had fallen back asleep about half an hour after she had initially woken up. After she confessed how she truly felt about everything to me, she began to complain that her chest and stomach hurt a lot. Like a groom carrying his beloved over the threshold, I carried her across the beach as soon as I had it in me to do so. It was strange… she seemed so amazing lightweight, that it felt as if I could carry her this way for days if necessary._

_As luck with have it, I didn't have to. Along the beach I found a small house, seemingly abandoned. Though it was in fact disserted, there were no empty piles of clothing with puddles of LCL beneath them inside the house like I was expecting. The residents must have been away during Third Impact. The house was relatively plain, as if the person or persons who lived there kept a Spartan existence… and that told me nothing of the people that once called it home._

_Finding a small but comfortable bed, I gently laid Asuka down. She moaned in pain lightly in her sleep. A small beeping sound coming from her wrist told me the suit was about out of power and would auto-depressurize soon. I gently ran my right hand over her stomach and found small bumps under the suit that felt a bit squishy._

_Suddenly, I got a vision of something that happened during Third Impact, before I arose from the Black Moon that used to be NERV HQ. It was as if I had a moment of clairvoyance, and I was haunted by a vision of a torn asunder Unit 02 being lanced with nine proxies of the Lancea Longini. I would learn soon enough that the term "clairvoyance" was not entirely accurate, but certainly close._

"_She must still bear the wounds from that battle," I thought aloud, and I knew that if that were true, the only thing keeping her blood in her body at that moment was the pressure from the suit. Once that gave out, she could bleed to death depending on how bad the reciprocal wounds from her synchronization were._

_On task, I quickly began searching the house for first aid supplies. Though I never used the skills myself, my training as a pilot for NERV taught me how to treat injuries. It was funny though, a few hours ago I was trying to kill her, now here I was trying to save her life. I couldn't help it… I was alone in this world now, and she was the only other soul as far as I knew then. I couldn't let her die… besides, if I had, I'd never have been able to tell her how I truly felt about her._

_She had spent the last year dragging me down and kicking me around. "Baka do this, Baka do that, Baka Hentai…" It was almost too much for me to take, and yet… I had fallen in love with her. Because I knew for all her irritability, for all her arrogance, she was an emotionally scarred little girl… and she hid those scars behind her walls of arrogance and superiority. Just like me, she never was able to cope with her loss… that made us the same in a way. But while she hid behind a mask of strength, I hid within myself… disassociating myself from the rest of society as much as possible. I thought that by avoiding everyone, I couldn't hurt them. But now, after the world has all but stopped turning, I realize I was wrong… so very, very wrong._

_In the bathroom I was able to find a small storage closet with plenty of first aid supplies. I thanked whatever deific figure was still out there that the former owners of his house saw fit to stock such things, and I made it back to the bedroom in time to hear a hissing sound as the suit finally gave out completely. Working quickly I stripped the upper half the suit off of her and saw what I was dealing with._

_The wounds were not as bad as I had thought they were being mere echoes of the damage she had taken in her battle. But they still oozed and bleed, so I had to work fast. I worked quickly but thoroughly, cleaning out each wound and then placing a gauze pad on it. Once they were all cleaned and covered. I gently sat her up and began to wrap up her upper body to both hold the pads in place and to keep her from moving too much in her sleep so she had less of a chance of reopening them._

_There were two other wounds that needed immediate attention. Her right arm was sliced down the center from between her middle and ring fingers, all the way up to her shoulder. It looked like her arm had originally been split in half, but somehow managed to reseal itself up. A nasty bloody scar ran up her entire arm however and it still bled in places. I took extra care to clean that and wrapped her arm up so she couldn't move it too violently; there was no telling what it would take to reopen such a wound._

_The last wound was the one I was dreading. Her left eye was still bandaged up with an old bandage. I gently removed it and was treated with a sudden run of a thin stream of blood. Quickly, I cleaned that away and looked at the condition of the eye itself. It was a red ball of flesh in her head but no outside physical damage could be seen. The bleeding was coming from behind it and around the outside. I carefully cleaned the exposed tissue and placed a new pad over the eye, gently wrapping this too._

_I looked over my work, and for the first time since I started this project I realized something… Asuka was now lying naked on the bed in front of me. Sometime during my work, I completely removed her plugsuit. It wasn't until later that I would realize something else… that I wasn't concerned with whether the carpet matched the drapes (there is no carpet by the way), or with preventing a red tide from exploding from my nose, because I was still more worried about her health. Rather than think of how beautiful she was even all bandaged up, I thought that it would probably get cold tonight and she needs to be covered up. _

_Just before Third Impact, I had thought that Asuka was right about me all along, that I was just a pervert. But I realize now that this was never true. I do not simply think she's hot… I love her, and when you love someone, you look at them in a different light. She was not someone I simply wanted to have sex with, or wanted to ogle all the time, she was important. I cared about her…I think that that time with her, cleaning her wounds, and dressing the broken body with gauze and medical padding, that was when I truly became a man._

_After all that work was done, I cleaned up a bit, disposed of the old bandages in the garbage and searched for more sheets and blankets. It was beginning to rain that awful bloody rain again, and the temperature was starting to become colder than I ever remember it being. After a short search, I found a linen closet full of sheets and comforters. I draped two sheets over Asuka and tucked her in under a thick comforter. Then I provisioned myself a pair of sheets and a comforter to sleep under._

_As I lay there, I thought about how I put all the bloody bandages in the trash can, knowing full well that no garbage men were going to pick up the waste this Tuesday. Its amazing how even in the most dire of circumstances, the most basic of habits are still followed. These thoughts followed me as I fell asleep._

_I'm sure I'll look back on this sometime in the future and laugh about the absurdity of it all. There we were… two children, a few years from truly being adults and now we must fend for ourselves in a broken wasteland of a world…_

… _why the fuck did I come back here?_

_Shinji Ikari_

_November 5th, 2017_

* * *

Morning came with the sounds of thunder loud enough to shake the small house and rouse its occupants from their slumber. Shinji was the first to awaken, slowly sitting up and rubbing his eyes in time to almost be blinded by a flash of lightning. He grumbled about the weather and began to nurse a headache he was now feeling in full force.

Asuka opened her one uncovered eye and realized she was staring at a ceiling. She didn't know where she was, and was more than a little confused. The last thing she remembered was saying that she felt sick to the obviously mentally broken Shinji. Now she was laying here feeling tightness over much of her upper body. Did he take care of her? Her head slowly turned towards the other bed in the room.

The room was small, and she could see the other bed was against the other wall parallel to hers. He was there, sitting up and rubbing his temples. He was wearing the same outfit she remembered though now it was stained with blood in many places, especially the shirt. She grimaced at that, wondering if it was her blood or if he somehow managed to hurt himself.

Shinji carefully turned towards her, still sitting on the bed and notice her looking at him. Her visible eye seemed somewhat brighter and healthier even in this dark room.

"You're awake," he said as he approached and kneeled next to the low bed. "How do you feel?"

"Sick… still," she replied. "I'm… I'm so sorry Shinji-kun… I never realized what I was doing to you all this time." A low rumble of distant thunder accented her apology and a single salty tear formed in the corner of her eye. It quickly broke loose of its own surface tension and tailed down her face.

Shinji's heart seemed to wrench at her small voice and he felt so sorry for her. "It's okay Asuka-chan," he assured her, as he wiped away the tear. "I forgive you for everything."

"I wish… I wish I was more like you. You had the strength to carry me off the beach and take care of me. I don't know if I could have done the same."

"I know you would have tried," he replied. "Don't be so hard on yourself. None of us are perfect… and we each deal with pain differently." Then he frowned. "Don't try to make me out to be the big hero… I don't even know where I got the strength to come this far."

"You're cutting yourself short ba… Shinji-kun." Asuka managed to catch herself before she called him an idiot yet again. After witnessing everything he went through under her tyrannical rule, she promised herself she would be more careful about using that word. "I'd probably be dead now if it wasn't for you."

Shinji was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke up. "I couldn't leave you there…" his voice trailed. "I wouldn't abandon you like everyone else seemed to after your mother…." He couldn't finish the sentence. Experiencing her pain along with his own made him feel like he had lost two mothers.

"I never really told you about Mama. I wish I would have been more open with you instead of being das uber bitch and keeping it all inside."

She was right of course. Asuka's soul was with him during Instrumentality and though that unholy event, he saw though her eyes witnessing the pain she had experienced felt it and lived it along with her, just as she experienced his. Now, he understood her better, and somehow he loved her all the more. He knew he needed to take care of her and that was what he was going to do. She had to get her strength up before….

He shook his head trying to get the visions of horrible weather out of his head.

_There is time, there has to be…_

Asuka saw into his soul as well during that event. She knew what it was like to be truly abandoned now, and realized he was never truly weak… he simply did not know how to be strong. She couldn't kid herself anymore; she was in love with him, and it meant the world that he was willing to set aside his own comfort and risk his own chances at survival to take care of her.

"The world has changed again," Shinji said ominously. "Everything is different now. I even feel different… somehow things seem clearer to me."

"Oh?" Asuka asked. "How do you mean?"

"I saw the battle… in my head, when you fought the EVA series."

"We were all linked during Instrumentality, you probably…."

"No, I never saw that during Instrumentality."

Asuka's eye widened again. "What are you saying?"

"I… I don't know for sure. I'm getting images in my head of things that haven't happened yet. The world's climate has shifted again, and the endless sixteen year long summer this world has suffered though is coming to an end."

Asuka shifted so that she was back to staring at the ceiling. "Are we returning to a four season climate again, like it was before Second Impact?"

"Not exactly," Shinji said ominously. "The world has been heavily damaged. Third Impact destroyed the balance of our climate and the earth's axis has shifted again. We may return to having four seasons, but for now, the world must rebalance itself."

"An Ice Age," Asuka whispered. "Do… do you think we can survive something like that?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to give up," he said with conviction as he stood up. "If I understand these odd 'visions' I've been getting, we have maybe a week before the temperature drops low enough to start snowing. Hopefully, you'll be able to move by then and we'll be able to find a place where we can weather the storm and survive."

Asuka nodded then looked down at herself. "Why do I have these wounds anyway? I thought that we all became one during Third Impact and my body was recreated from the LCL."

"That was the condition of your body when you died," Shinji explained.

"No, I was in worse condition than this… The EVA Series… they tore me to pieces… I should have scars all over my stomach, but the only injuries I seem to have were the ones made by the lances. If they haven't healed by now, will they ever?"

"I wouldn't worry too much; you seem to be healing fast. I wasn't even expecting you to be able to move, let alone talk when you woke up, so the injuries can't possible be permanent."

Asuka nodded in agreement, though she didn't feel like she was getting better. It stuck out in her mind that the lance injuries where they only ones she still had, but even she couldn't begin to fathom what that meant. She shifted to a sitting up position, feeling the wounds pull slightly beneath their confines. As she did so she lifted her covers and looked down at herself, realizing that other than the bandages that covered most of her chest and stomach, she was completely naked.

"Suit gave out?" Asuka asked with a bit of playfulness in her voice. There was no way she was missing an opportunity like this, end of the world or no. Shinji turned slightly red when he realized that she just figured out she was naked under her sheets and blankets.

"Y-yeah… had to get those wounds covered and cleaned."

She returned her coverings to their previous position. With a bit of twinkle in her eye and a devious smile on her face she whispered in an almost sultry voice, "You liked what you saw, ja?"

Shinji didn't answer her, but the profuse blushing and the sudden need to leave the room told her all she needed to know.

"Still so easy to tease," she whispered with a giggle then stopped herself realizing where she had heard those words before. "Mein gott, I'm starting to sound like Misato."

* * *

At least one of the residents that lived at the house Shinji and Asuka claimed for the time being was female. This he was able to figure out by the clothing. Asuka needed something she could get into and out of easily as her wounds still needed tending, and luckily, Shinji found something… a black jumpsuit with a zipper back that looked like it would fit. He brought it to her after she had taken another nap and left the room politely to allow her to dress; she seemed strong enough to stand now, which to Shinji was a miracle in and of itself.

Asuka didn't get fully dressed though; she put it on but did not put on the top half as she knew Shinji needed to check her bandages again. He reentered the room now that she was covered at least from the waist down and got out the First Aid supplies again.

"Ok, let's take a look now," he said as he carefully removed the bandages from her upper body. Slowly her bare frame became more visible and Shinji tried his best not to stare at her chest too much, at least the parts that weren't wounded. Upon removing the first pad from her chest he was immediately flabbergasted.

"You're almost fully healed already?" he questioned with surprise. The wound which before was about the size if a saltine cracker was now less than a quarter inch wide. There wasn't even any scarring left behind. "How is this possible?"

"I don't know," she replied. "My energy level is up a bit too." She held her hand up and flipped her wrist around so that she was looking down the back of her hand as if able to examine the minutest details of her skin. "Everything seems more focused… details more noticeable. I can't help but wonder if Instrumentality somehow did something to us."

"Maybe," he replied feeling a bit nervous now. "Since we returned I've noticed some strange things about myself that I haven't been able to fully explain."

"Your premonitions for one?" Asuka offered.

"Yes… and the fact that physically I'm stronger than I've ever been. It's almost like we're taking on… angelic properties."

"We're becoming Angels?"

"Either that, or Angelic creatures of some form. Ritsuko herself said that the DNA of an Angel and a Human were extremely similar, maybe… somehow… humanity being combined into one being unlocked some hidden potential?"

Asuka thought about that. "That would explain why the lance injuries were the only ones I still had, the lance is an anathema to them isn't it?"

Shinji nodded.

"Also, we were piloting EVA for about a year or so before Third Impact, and we learned that LCL is actually angelic blood. Perhaps our exposure to it over time was what triggered these changes and Third Impact was the catalyst that set the metamorphosis in motion?"

There she was using big words again. Shinji loved it when she used intelligent speech… he knew she was much more intelligent than he was. Even at her most arrogant, there was something beautiful about her mind as well as her body.

"Maybe," Shinji wondered aloud, derailing his thoughts about her beautiful brain. "It would make sense… either scenario would. And perhaps the truth lies in a little of both… but I wonder how much we're going to change?"

Shinji looked at Asuka after saying that last, and scariest thought and noticed she was trying to remove the bandage over her eye expressing a bit of worry in her actions while doing so. Shinji helped her with it and looked at it now that it has had time to heal.

There was still some red inside the eye, making her normally brilliant blue a more violet color. A faint redness existed around it but the skin was mostly healed and there was no exposed flesh anymore.

"I can see out of it pretty well. Does it look bad?"

"A lot better than it was," he replied. "When I first saw it, it was a blood filled red orb, now its still a bit red but not as bad. The cornea looks a bit purple rather than blue so its possible there's still some blood in it."

Asuka thought for a moment. "Do… do you think our eyes will turn red… you know… like Kaworu's and Ayanami's were?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "It would be a shame for you to lose your eye color… I really love your blue eyes."

The outwardness of his comment surprised her, but she was starting to like this more forward version of Shinji. "So do I," she whispered with a smile. Distant thunder rolled over the house and another rumble shook the former Second Child. "Wow… I'm hungry."

"There is some canned meat in the pantry. It's not a home cooked meal and I think it's safe to assume that we're not getting one of those for a while."

"Too bad, I really loved your cooking."

"Thanks," Shinji replied as rain began to batter the house. His attention was drawn towards the window where the water running down had a crimson tint to it.

"It's raining blood," Asuka said with disgust.

"It's been doing that on and off all day. It's not as red as it was earlier today. I think some of the LCL got in the atmosphere and the sky is working on getting it out."

"But LCL is orange. Why is the sky raining blood?"

Shinji stood up and walked towards the window as Asuka put on the top of her outfit and began to zip up, realizing she's been holding this entire conversation while topless.

"It's as if the world is crying tears of blood," he whispered almost poetically. "Mourning the loss of the human race despite the horrors our species have visited upon it."

"Shinji-kun, do you think anyone else will return to this world?"

His head tilted down as a small twinge of fear crept into his heart. "I don't know Asuka-chan… I don't even know why I'm here…."

* * *

_I had often wondered what it would have been like if Instrumentality actually went off according to plan. Would we have become some kind of god? That was the purpose wasn't it? I mean, I can't believe SEELE would have meant for what really happened to happen as it did… reduce this world to a realm of nightmares…_

_Over the next few days, we would begin to gather supplies from the surrounding area, ranging further from the house with each passing day. I was thankful when we found a working truck, and even more thankful when Asuka told me she knew how to drive. As we prepared to move out, the temperature started to drop more and more each day. But that wasn't what truly worried me. Oh the cold was going to get really bad, but we had supplies to deal with that… there was something far more pressing on my mind._

_I had another vision… a vision of a demonic creature that had come to kill us, tear our flesh from our bones and eat our souls. The creature wasn't clear in my head, but demonic was about as good a description as any for what I saw, and it was the only way I could really convey what it was to Asuka. We both tried to write it off as just a bad dream, something from a world of nightmares that was leftover from my childhood. We tried hard to convince ourselves that nothing like that could possibly exist in this dead husk of a world…_

… _we were wrong…_

_Shinji Ikari_

_Novemember 7th, 2017_

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try to fake it but all wounds are there to see…_

_- Deathstars, Death Dies Hard_


	2. Devil's Gauntlet

**II: Devil's Gauntlet**

* * *

Shinji Ikari counted himself lucky, and this was a new thing for him. It seemed during the Angel Wars, as he now refers to it, he had nothing but bad luck and misfortune. However the existence of this working pickup truck was proof in his mind that his luck had finally begun to change.

Over the past three days, he had begun to forage for supplies from the outskirts of what used to be Tokyo-3. The center of the city was gone, little more than a gargantuan

Hole, opening into what used to be the Geofront, now a huge crater. That massive opening was all that marked the original resting place of the Black Moon. The outer edges of the city managed to somewhat escape destruction, as damage ranged from superficial cracks in the pavement and bricks, to structures listing dangerously yet somehow stable. Several stores and residential homes were still intact, and some of them contained needed supplies; canned food, blankets, clothing and the like. The main problem however was that none of the clothing he had found thus far was fit for the kind of weather he knew was coming, and much of the food was unsuitable.

It was now day four since he found both himself and the girl he loved on the beach after Third Impact. Hidden in a closed garage, was the truck. He didn't know what the make or model of it was, nor did he care. He was however pleased when he found a spare key for it under the sun visor and the engine turned just fine when he tried it.

Of course, Shinji had little experience when it came to driving a motor vehicle, so what followed soon afterwards was a harrowing twenty-two minutes of various profanities and close calls. Finally however, he managed to get the vehicle stopped next to their borrowed home.

Asuka stood at the window smiling as she realized they now had the means to transport more of the stuff the needed to survive. She was beginning to wonder if they would have to find a cave somewhere and live like Troglodytes. With a working vehicle, their options opened tremendously.

At this point, Asuka was fully healed and had been busying herself getting the house in order. They didn't plan on leaving for a bit, since they really had no where to go. She figured he would take her on their next excursion into the outskirts of the city, perhaps even traveling to Tokyo-2 to see if that area would be better suited to their potential long term survival.

As Shinji entered the house Asuka jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and besieging him with a rather sudden display of affection. This should be read as "attempted to stick her tongue down his throat". Shinji had been attempting to kiss her properly for a few days now, and this time Asuka was determine to show him how it was really done.

* * *

**2 Days Ago**

* * *

Shinji carefully helped a wobbly Asuka into the dining area of the kitchen and pulled out the chair for her in a gentlemanly gesture. She sat down uneasily, feeling a little groggy still from all the sleep she had been getting the last day or so. A plate of sliced up canned meats and canned vegetables was placed in front of her. She wrinkled her nose a bit in dissatisfaction believing the food was going to be cold, but much to her surprise she saw steam rising from the plate.

"How did you manage this?" she asked with obvious surprise in her voice.

"Lucky for us, the former residents owned a portable gas grill. There is still some propane left in it so I figured why not cook? I managed to find their spice rack though, to be perfectly honest; their selection was not exactly up to my standards. I did my best."

Asuka smelled the food before taking a bite of the meat. As she expected it was very salty, as canned meat normally is. However, the spices Shinji used also helped bring out a bit of flavor that such meats normally did not have. While certainly not his best, she decided that he did very well for having strict limits on what he could do.

"A bit salty, as I expected but you did great Shinji-kun!" With that she began to eat in earnest. The vegetables were decent as well considering they were not fresh, and she considered this meal a success.

Shinji did as well, and his smile of appreciation told all. "Thank you, Asuka-chan. I wasn't too sure it would come out ok."

"Are you kidding? If you had to cook over a campfire it would still be awesome."

Her kind words seem to lift his spirits a bit, causing him to try to give her a peck on the cheek. At that moment though, she had turned to face him, and it turned out to be lip contact. While Asuka was trying to follow what was natural, Shinji chickened out and quickly withdrew before she could try to slip him her tongue. This left her feeling a bit empty and she tried to tell herself it was because he was still unsure of himself, but considering everything he has been though and has so far done without fear, she wasn't about to let that go forever…

* * *

… and today was the day she would push the advantage her in favor. Shinji tensed up at first with the sudden entry of a foreign tongue in his mouth but realized he liked it too much to attempt to withdraw. His arms slid around her lower back and held her against him and his love responded by pressing her beautiful body against him more forcefully.

What happened next could only be described as natural for two people, alone in the world and with physical and emotional desires that needed desperately to be fulfilled. Shinji maneuvered both of them into the living room. As they both fell upon the sofa, Asuka back first, Shinji attacked her neck with an almost instinctual lust. At first Asuka chuckled at his awkward and amateurish assault but he had hit just the right spots causing her to moan loudly. This of course, only fueled his libido and before she realized what happened, the jump suit she was wearing was already unzipped and down to her waist.

While it wasn't the first time Shinji had seen her breasts, it was the first time she had allowed him to do so willingly. As he locked his mouth with hers again, he groped her left breast in his right hand firmly yet gently. Contact with her nipple and the pressure against her assets caused her to moan in his mouth. She struggled to get out of the jumpsuit completely as he continued his rough kissing and quickly renewed his assault on her neck.

She managed to get out of the jumpsuit as Shinji took a moment to remove his shirt. He then proceeded to shower her with kisses and small bites, especially over her breasts, as Asuka concentrated on trying to get his pants off. This was proving difficult as he slid further down her body, latching on to her right nipple for a moment to suckle. This sent a shock of pleasure though her body as she felt a lustful warmth begin to spread from just above her apex.

When he slid further down she wondered if he was really going to go down on her. She didn't even complete the thought when her legs were forced apart a bit and she felt his tongue assault her apex. Her back arched at the sudden contact that was almost too much for her, and unconsciously, her fingers threaded their way through his hair. She now pressed his head further as his tongue began to probe her body. When he assaulted her clitoris, she almost screamed in ecstasy.

The attack upon her womanhood lasted only a few moments but was enough to send to spirals of pleasurable warmth throughout her body. Shinji's ministrations were so good it felt to her like he had done it for hours. She instantly realized either he was a natural at this, or was just hitting the right places on sheer beginner's luck. Before she could decide which, he was on top of her again and her legs bent up almost on instinct.

He entered her swiftly, punching though her hymen with no resistance. Asuka felt the sting of the breaking of that bit of skin and flesh, but the pain was gone almost as quickly. He immediately thrust into her and all she could focus on was the feeling of becoming one with him as he tried to find his rhythm.

Though their activity started frantic at first, as the actual copulation commenced, they slowed down, enjoying the sensations and looking deeply into each others eyes. Asuka moaned in time with Shinji's breaths as they quickly got into synch as if they had been doing this for years. Asuka continued to gaze deeply into the pools of cobalt that were his eyes and saw in them the perfect peace and harmony she craved… it was feeling she hoped they would never lose.

The feelings of pleasure between them suddenly intensified causing Shinji to moan at the same time Asuka's eyes fluttered closed and her back arched. He picked up the pace a bit as her knees pressed into his sides. No words were exchanged… none were needed. As the edge loomed ever closer, Asuka's legs locked behind Shinji forcing him into her harder and harder until she finally reached the apex of emotion and held him within her.

Shinji clamped his eyes closed and threw his head back. He didn't make a sound but the emotion on his face was purely visible. His entire life was without feelings of love until now. This was something he had never felt before… and he didn't want it to end. Asuka for her part was not nearly as silent and screamed out her absolute pleasure, feeling all of her energy suddenly leave her. She collapsed as Shinji struggled to keep from falling on her. She did manage a moment later to wrap her arms around him and pull him down onto her small body, desiring nothing more than to feel his warmth encompass her.

As the day wore on, they eventually made it to the bedroom. On Shinji's bed they made love again, this time far less franticly and with Asuka on top of him. Time became meaningless as they enjoyed only each other's company and the closeness of each others souls.

* * *

The day broke with another storm, but this time the rain was just normal rain. Shinji was happy to see that, however Asuka did not share his sentiments. She discovered that her right arm ached when it rained, and though it was not hurting as much this time, the dull throb reminded her of the wound that was buried there.

Of course the real reason the pain wasn't as severe as it was the past few days was due to her angelic regeneration. Her body was still changing, and she knew that Shinji's had to be as well. Slowly she turned on her side and used her left arm to prop up to a sitting position while holding the sheets up above her breasts with her right. Once upright, she gently rubbed her right forearm. With the wound now completely gone, she had only the ache to remind her of it.

A sharp bang outside drew her attention away from her pain and to the window; she peeked out the blinds at the head of the bed and saw that Shinji was outside working. He was busy unloading the next wave of supplies from the truck. Luckily the path to the carport was cement so he would not have to trudge through mud to get the supplies into the house, but she still felt sorry for having, in a way, forced him into doing this in the rain. Shinji of course had fully intended to get the supplies inside the previous day but Asuka's ambush followed by what came next prevented him from doing so.

Still, she could see he had a smile on his face as he worked despite the cold rain and despite the labor. He must still be riding high from last night, and apparently nothing could sour his mood at this point.

Except perhaps having his vision come to pass….

"Ridiculous," she reminded herself. Shinji awoke the third morning they were here from a nightmare involving something that was a gargoyle-like demon. He said it attacked them and killed her, appearing to draw her soul from her body by some kind of orifice in its left hand. What it did next was certainly worthy of the most violent of 'slasher films', according to him.

But it could not have been more than a dream, could it? She really didn't want to try to answer that now… it was dangerous to consider such things. All she could focus on right now was making sure their home was in order and they had enough supplies to ride out the coming winter… or at least enough to survive an exodus if necessary.

Deciding she's been lazy for long enough she slipped her naked body out from the covers and found her jumpsuit. For the time being, it was all she attempted to wear. She wasn't about to use the undergarments left behind by the previous owners since all of it appeared to have been used even if clean. After zipping up, she tied her hair back and put on some socks and boots that Shinji had also found for her. She then proceeded out the side door into the rain to assist with the unloading.

As much as she would have loved to go another round with him, she rightly decided to put their priorities in order. The soreness from last night's exertions also precluded the idea of doing it again. Besides, Shinji was to make another run into the ruined outskirts of the city today and Asuka wanted to go with him, mostly in hopes of finding some fresh undergarments. The idea of used underclothing did not sit well with her at all. The Great Asuka Langley Soryu would not stand for such, besides it was unhygienic and just plain gross.

As she reached for another case of canned food, Shinji grabbed her from behind wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into him. Asuka smiled softly and leaned against him, oblivious to the rain.

"We're gonna get soaked you know," she whispered.

"Do you really care?" Shinji replied to her. He for one liked feeling the closeness between them just as much as their exertions from the previous night. It was something that was missing from his life before and he intended to never let himself be so alone again.

"No, but we are on a schedule," Asuka replied softly. He sighed at this and let her go. Asuka lifted a heavy case of large cans feeling a twinge in her right arm as she tried. She cried out briefly as she let the cans drop back to the bed.

"What happened?" Shinji asked concerned as she came to her side.

"My arm," she whispered as she tried to rub the pain away. The cold rain not making her bones feel any better.

"It must still not be completely healed yet," Shinji observed as he gently held her arm considering it. "You should go inside; I'll take care of this."

"But there's a lot here," Asuka protested.

"Nothing I can't handle," he said proudly. "Go on, rest your arm. I'll take care of this."

Asuka nodded but felt sad that she was now forcing Shinji to do all the work. She watched as he lifted the heavy cans and her eyes widened a bit. She knew she would have had a problem carrying that as it was close to fifty pounds, but he lifted it easily.

"How did he get so strong," she thought to herself.

When she got inside, she went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed, cradling her arm. Her lip trembled a second before she kicked a nearby piece of furniture in her frustration. While she'd never show it in Shinji's presence, she didn't want to be simply coddled and taken care of. She'd always be accepting of him and his help, but deep down it would always frustrate her to no end. She hated being weak….

A few minutes later the supplies were unloaded and the truck was on the move. This time, Asuka was driving. Her mood less sour now that she had a chance to convince herself that needing to be taken care of was only temporary. She firmly believed she would recover, and at least now Shinji had something he needed help with… its obvious the boy couldn't drive. That though brought a smile to her face. "Ah, so the great Shinji-sama still needs my help." She lightly chuckled to herself, both at the comment in her head and her own foolishness. Certainly Shinji was tough now, and while she joked about him being the so called "invincible Shinji" she was jealous of his abilities back then. Now she had no such feelings of inadequacy, except of course that she still hadn't completely healed.

_One thing at a time Asuka, one thing at a time._

The trip was silent for the first few minutes before Shinji finally asked, "Where did you learn how to drive?"

Asuka smirked as she replied, "Kaji taught me when he was taking care of me in Germany. It seems so long ago, but I guess you never really forget once you learn."

"Oh." Shinji shifted uncomfortably. He remembered what happened to Kaji before Third Impact. He also remembered how it nearly destroyed Misato, and as he thought about that, he knew that Asuka didn't actually know what happened to Kaji. But he also knew he would never tell her unless she asked him directly. No reason to open that can of worms until he had no choice.

"I kinda miss him…"

"I miss a lot of our friends," Shinji replied. "Touji… Kensuke… even our class representative. I'd give so much just to see them again."

Asuka smiled sadly. Shinji had so few friends in junior high, although the stooges could be counted among them. As much as Touji and Ken infuriated her, she did miss them a little bit. She especially missed Hikari, who was her best friend and almost like a sister to her.

"So," she began trying to change the subject into something less depressing, "the last time you were in the city, did you notice any clothing stores?"

"One," he replied immediately.

The moment he said that, they heard a loud crash off to the left. Asuka slammed on the breaks and saw what was left of a store front give way and crash into the street. They were in one of the suburbs surrounding Tokyo-3 in a commercial area, one Shinji hadn't visited yet. The buildings here seemed to have taken the brunt of a massive bombing run, and the children knew it was probably within the radius of the N2 that ripped open the Geofront. At first it seemed that the building was simply falling apart due to the damage sustained by that explosion combined with perhaps recent decay, but as the front tore away and revealed the inside, they saw something that made them both gasp.

Shinji's nightmare had come for them… perched upon the third floor of the building, exposed now by the opening was a stone grey gargoyle with crimson eyes only partially obscured by the rising dust and debris. Its wings hid it slightly for a moment before it spread them and roared out in a sound that could only be described as otherworldly.

"Asuka! Go!" Shinji yelled and she complied by slamming her foot onto the accelerator hard. The truck peeled out and took off into the debris strewn road ahead, its tires whining and causing the truck to almost fishtail as they picked up speed. The demon roared after them and took wing proving it was faster than they were.

Less than a minute later, the monster dropped on top of the roof of the vehicle with enough force to blow out its windows. Asuka screamed, not expecting this and swerved hard forcing her passenger to hold on for dear life as the truck started to spin out. It didn't even get half a revolution done when one of the tires blew and the truck rolled, the demon abandoning it the moment it started to roll and landed on a nearby abandoned vehicle causing those windows to blow out as the roof collapsed.

The truck rolled three times before coming to a halt, amazingly on its wheels. Asuka tried to start it up again but the engine refused to turn over. Realizing this was a lost cause they abandoned the vehicle.

"Is that the thing you saw?" Asuka asked hurriedly as they both fled into an alley.

"Yeah," Shinji said ominously, nursing a cut on his forehead as he ran. "That was it… down to the last detail."

The alley was wide and long. It was also strewn with much in the way of debris and a few sets of old and discarded clothing, some of which was stained orange. The children took little note of this as they ran as fast as they could. The demon landed near the alley but due to its wingspan it could not fly though so it ran on all fours towards them.

Shinji glanced back in time to push Asuka out of the way. The monster leapt at them passing between them before landing and turning to face them.

"We can't escape it," Shinji said ominously as they both took in the horror before them. It had to be nearly nine feet tall. Its body looked as if it were made of stone.

"Is there anything we can do to fight it off?" Asuka asked. "Aren't we becoming more like angels?"

This gave Shinji an idea. Standing in the middle of the alleyway he placed his arms before him akimbo and concentrated as the demon walked forward, brandishing its claws. He hoped he knew what he was doing.

"This is the light of my soul," Shinji yelled out, "A sacred barrier than nothing can penetrate!" He mimicked the words of his once friend Kaworu Nagisa and his words were confident but Asuka's heart was beating rapidly. If she was wrong… they were both dead. It was one of the few times the former second child knew fear, and that was a feeling she preferred she didn't know. The demon called the bluff and leapt at Shinji again shrieking as it did so…

… only to find that it was no bluff. He rammed into an invisible wall sending a hexagonal shockwave outwards from the impact point. Shinji's eyes actually glowed in the dim light of the alleyway. Asuka caught the glow and saw the crimson eyes she knew well in the First Child of NERV.

"Asuka," Shinji said. "I'll hold him off, get to the corner store to the left of the entrance across the street and hide there."

"What about you?!" she cried frantically.

"Don't worry about me. Just go!"

She turned and ran, not looking back. In her heart she feared she was about to become alone in this world.

The demon got back on its feet and roared at Shinji, displaying a level of pissed it didn't before. Keeping his arms crossed, Shinji began to step back slowly. He wasn't sure what would happen when they reached the end of the alleyway and the demon could once again take wing, but he figured he'd have that thought out by the time he reached the street… at least he could hope.

To his horror however the demon seemed to concentrate on him hard and he could feel energy around him. He watched the demon lunged forward with his claws, slamming them into his AT-Field. To his horror he saw the fingers push through and start to pull the field opened much like he did when his EVA went berserk in his first battle.

"And now I know how the angels felt," he whispered as he realized the demon could use its own AT-Field to erode his. On impulse while his field was still up he forced it forward sharply throwing the demon back. He wasted no time turning and running for the street.

"Time for a plan B… if only I knew what that entailed…"

As he reached the street he suddenly rolled right as the demon seemed to fire out of the alleyway slamming into a vehicle in the way with enough force to cause it to roll. Shinji turned to face the beast as it quickly recovered and lashed out at him. On impulse, one he would have never done had he not been working on instinct he stepped forward and threw his left arm up in a "Wax Off" maneuver striking the incoming appendage just before the wrist. Somehow he successfully blocked it… but not just blocked it, actually had the strength to hold it at bay as the demon tried to press its attack. Shinji could feel his muscles tense as his right hand balled into a fist and threw a punch directly against the demon's jaw with enough force to throw it back.

It was at this point Shinji looked at himself and wondered just how in the hell he did that. He knew he was getting stronger but this was crazy. Asuka from behind the store front across the street saw what Shinji had done and realized that if he had that kind of power, there was no reason to believe she did not. Working off of sheer adrenaline she ran at the demon. Shinji yelled for her to stop as it got up and faced her but she didn't. Her EVA training gave her a lot more experience and knowledge in the area of hand-to-hand combat, and she was about to see if it paid off out of her EVA as well.

When she reached her target she ducked on its attempt to grab her and sent a karate chop into its elbow with enough force to throw the arm back. Before it could recover she struck hard with her right fist directly into its chest before delivering a left cross to its head. She winced on contact as her arm protested the assault but she ignored it for now. She had bigger things to worry about.

The hits did seem to hurt it but it had finally had enough of this. It kicked her hard throwing her back across the street and into the wall of the building there. She struck hard and slid down groaning for a moment before she watched Shinji leap onto it and tried to take it down on his own, only to get swiped across the mid section with its claws and thrown in her direction. He hit the street and rolled before striking the curb and stopping.

He did start getting up immediately though as the monster was coming after them again. It stepped on him as it passed going for Asuka directly. Shinji started pushing himself up again as he watched the thing grab his mate and slam her into the sidewalk with enough force to crack the concrete. Holding her down with its right hand, its left was held above her with the palm facing her. To Asuka's horror, an orifice of some form was starting to open in the palm.

"No!" Shinji screamed as he managed to get off the floor. Instinctively he threw his right hand forward and from his hand he released an angelic blast of energy that blew the demon off her into the wall with enough force to partially go through it. Asuka rolled away and got back to her feet. She turned towards Shinji and her eyes widened.

Sprouting from his back, seeming to have torn through his shirt was a pair of white feathered wings. An aura of brilliant white energy surrounded him as his eyes once again took on the crimson look they had in the alleyway. He tore off his shirt revealing rope like cords of muscle beneath his skin. He wasn't bulky, but rather his body resembled a younger Bruce Lee. His fists clenched and she heard the knuckles crack as the demon seemed even less enthused by this latest change in the battle.

"You don't belong here," Shinji said. His words held a thinly veiled threat.

"Neither do you," the demon returned. Its voice was like nails on a chalkboard. "Man has rebelled against The First and won. Now it is our time! You should have stayed ascended angel."

"What are you," Shinji demanded.

"We are the darkness beyond the edge of your greatest nightmares… We are the shadows within the shadows… it is we who waited patiently beyond the veil of space and time for the proper moment to arise… we are everything and we are nothing… we are Legion, for we… are… many…."

"It doesn't matter how big you are, or think you are. This world does not belong to you… and it never will!"

Shinji lunged forward as the demon tried to meet him head on. The impact threw the demon back into the wall again, and as it tried to recover, it winged advasery delivered a nasty right cross which threw its entire body to the side. As he tried to recover, the angel forced him on his back where his wings could not help him and lept upon him to push the point home.. The demon tried to claw at him only to have its wrists grabbed in hands it thought were too small to hold him back.

Shinji stood to his full height on the monster's stomach and pulled back on both limbs. In a display of savagery mirrored only by EVA 01 in Berserker Mode, he tore both of the monster's arms off. It shrieked loudly even though its arms already started to regenerate. Shinji threw the appendages away as useless as he kicked down upon the monster's throat, effectively curb stomping its larynx. He then took hold of one of Legion's protruding horns and ripped it off with a twist

Legion tried to get up to force the angel off roaring in annoyance. At that moment Shinji thrust down with the horn like a make shift dagger into Legion's mouth and out the other side of its head. It thrashed around, unable to effectively fight back as Shinji then slammed his hand into its chest and gripped something familiar. With a war cry he ripped out a black double layered sphere. Asuka recognized it even though the color was wrong. It was a core… an S2 Engine…

The moment the thing was removed the demon finally stopped thrashing and lay still. Shinji in a show of contempt crushed it between his bare hands ending one of Legion's minions for good.

Now that the battle was over Shinji stepped down and his wings began to fade away. As his eyes and body returned to normal he stumbled, now completely fatigued and fell to his knees. Before he could fall further, Asuka caught him and held him against her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm ok… just really fatigued. I tried channeling my angelic half, and I guess I have a ways to go before I'm ready for it."

"You saved us," she added. "Was that what we are becoming?"

"No," Shinji replied. "I feel that was just the beginning…."

* * *

_In hindsight I was lucky… channeling my angelic powers so early after my rebirth was a bad idea. But if I had not done it, both Asuka-chan and I would have been dead. At the time I had said that I felt that the changes she witnessed within me were just the beginning, it was just a feeling. I was more right than I knew, but the changes came in stages over time, making me what I am today._

_Asuka would soon find her own power and together we felt we may have had a chance in the world. The cryptic words of Legion sounded like something out of a bad "Heaven / Hell" movie… but much of what he said proved to be true. The thing of it is neither heaven nor hell as you would understand it have anything at all to do with what was happening here. Neither one of us would realize that until we found Ayanami… or more to the point, her reincarnation._

_The real Rei Ayanami, whose soul was derived from Lilith, was the heart of Third impact and would never return. But somehow given life and much of the knowledge of the original, this new Rei explained her theories and some of the information proved quite accurate. We would use this information to battle Legion and its many forms as well as many other demonic aspects and monsters._

_But these are all stories for another time. The next time I have a chance to write in this journal, I'll try to explain what happened when winter finally set in. Fighting demons was one thing (and we would have more than our fair share of battles later), surviving the long cold winter to come would be something else entirely…_

_The world had changed… this we knew… but it took the beginning of this winter to show us just how much the animals had changed with it._

_Shinji Ikari_

_November 9th, 2017_

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try to fake it but all wounds are there to see…_


	3. Chilled to the Bone

**III: Chilled to the Bone**

* * *

After Shinji recovered from his battle with Legion, he and Asuka searched the surrounding area for a new vehicle. The truck they had would not start which was not a good thing. Eventually however, they managed to find a working SUV. Though Shinji protested this choice of vehicle as it would have had bad gas mileage, Asuka assured him that this model was eco-friendly and had better mileage then most non-electric cars.

Asuka finally got her underwear and some new clothing from the store Shinji mentioned and additional supplies were loaded into the SUV. Within an hour they left the city and the rapidly decomposing body of the demon behind them.

By the time they got underway, night had begun to fall, and the temperature had dropped so severely that Asuka could clearly see her breath. She shivered on that realization and felt the twinge of pain in her right arm.

"Is it starting?" she asked. Shinji knew what she was talking about… it was the reason all these trips were necessary. They needed to ride out the winter, and there was no telling how long it would last.

"It will be soon," he replied ominously, "maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow but certainly no later than tomorrow evening."

Asuka looked towards the sky. A thick blanket of clouds blocked all sight of the arc of red that stained the skies above it… but she knew it was there. It would always be there to remind her of Third Impact… and her own failure.

"Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to this." She started the SUV and started driving. Shinji audibly sighed.

"Neither am I Asuka-chan… neither am I."

* * *

**Hours Later**

* * *

They arrived back at their home after the sun had set. The children could only assume this as they had not seen the sun at all that afternoon, and the clouds only thickened further in the evening. Asuka got out of the SUV's driver side and circled around to the back as Shinji carefully got out.

His entire body was sore beyond anything he had previously felt. For the first time in history, Shinji had harnessed powers beyond the human norm and his body was not ready for it. He leaned against the SUV as Asuka circled around the vehicle to him.

"You need a minute?" she asked.

Shinji nodded. "We can't take long though… the snow is approaching rapidly. It will be here very soon."

Asuka's eyes turned to the north along the shoreline. She could make out what looked like a white haze in the distance. It was far off yet, but the clouds were not moving very slowly.

"Looks like we have about twenty minutes at the most," she estimated.

"Less," Shinji replied as he rubbed his sore right arm with his left hand. "Can you handle this stuff?"

"Not a problem." She picked up a couple of bags of clothing and made her way into the house. Shinji took another few seconds before he pulled himself off the vehicle and tried to help. Since they stopped at a clothing store, he was able to replace the shirt he ruined in the city, so he wasn't feeling the cold just yet.

Asuka had finished with the clothing and found him trying to lift a set of cans, the same kind of cardboard pallet he lifted earlier without a problem, but his exertions prevented him from repeating the feat. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"I'll take care of it," she whispered.

He nodded and went into the house. Asuka remembered that when she tried to lift this earlier, her arm protested. This time she lifted it effortlessly and little more than a slight twinge came from her arm.

"It's almost fully healed already," she whispered to herself. "Good."

* * *

Inside the house, it was Shinji's turn to feel weak and useless. He laid upon the simple couch in what pretended to be the living room of this small house and felt the soreness spread all over his body.

"Damn it," he whispered. "I really burned myself out."

As he laid his head back against the arm of the couch and closed his eyes. Instantly images of what he had done recently came to him. He saw himself slam into the demon hard enough to knock it on its back, saw himself rip one of the thing's horns off and use it as an improvised weapon… then he saw though the eyes of EVA-01 during its first battle, how it ripped the arms off of Sachiel, how it used one of its ribs to try to puncture the core… then back to his fight against the gargoyle, how he tore into the thing's body to rip out the thing's core…

"Berserker…" the word slipped from his mouth as he slowly opened his eyes to see a concerned Asuka sitting next to him with a hand gently laid upon his chest.

"What did you say?" She asked gently.

"Berserker… It's apparently what I am." He shifted himself to more of a sitting up position as Asuka looked on worriedly. "During my first battle in EVA, I lost control of the unit, falling flat on my face. It picked me up, broke my arm and slammed something sharp into my head… well, broke the EVA's arm and slammed something sharp into the EVA's head. After that the pain became too much and I blacked out. The next thing I remembered from that time was standing in the street, buildings blasted out around me and the Third Angel was dead."

"I heard how your EVA went berserk and tore the angel apart on its own," she replied. "I thought it was just a story until Leliel."

"It wasn't… I'm starting to remember what happened," he said as he focused back on that memory. "The unit restarted on its own and jumped the angel. Before it could retaliate, my EVA broke both its arms and tore them off. It regenerated the damage done to its arm and broke though the things AT Field. It then tore off a rib and used it as an improvised weapon to try to destroy the core before the angel self-destructed."

"Mein Gott," Asuka whispered.

"At the time I though it was my mother trying to protect me… but after fighting that Legion Gargoyle… I'm not so sure anymore."

Asuka didn't interrupt him simply letting him talk.

"EVA was derived from the Angels. Unit 01 was derived from Lilith, the others from Adam… and we already know how similar the angels really were to us. What if the berserk EVAs were more of an extension of the pilot and not the soul trapped within it?

"My father manipulated my life after mom died… he tried to make me into some easily controllable thing because I was necessary for his plans. You had combat training, discipline… you were born to fight in EVA. I was undisciplined… erratic… and I had unresolved anger issues… in many ways I think I still do.

"And so this is how I fight…" He clenched his fist again. "I fight like an animal… a berserker."

"And it was the berserker who saved us," she interjected causing him to stop his self-degrading line of thought. "You have always been a greater warrior than I will ever be. Yeah, you're a baka sometimes, but you always fought for the right reasons, even if you never realized it yourself. I was little more than soldier of fortune… EVA made me special, almost a celebrity…."

"It's only because of your past that you were like that," he replied. Her face softened as she though back to her mother at his words. "I… guess we're both flawed somehow."

"Maybe," she said thoughtfully, "but we have each other to counteract those weaknesses." Her face set on determination. "We can't let our pasts haunt us forever. We must accept what we have become Shinji-kun."

He chuckled at that. "We don't even know what the fuck we are!"

"Survivors…" That single word answer stopped him dead in his line of thought and caused him to cease chuckling. "I know others will come. I can feel it. But until they do, we must fight on and survive. No matter how many Demons come for us, we must persevere."

Shinji nodded. "Right! No more pining for the past or what could have been."

"No more regret and self-loathing."

"No more fear," he finished resolutely. "I will not run away… not now… not ever!"

She smiled at him. For the first time, she felt as if she truly got though to him.

Together they stood and walked to the front door. Shinji opened it and stepped upon the covered porch, Asuka standing to his right and holding his hand. They watched the first flakes of pure white snow drift from the sky towards the ground. Soon, the view was blanketed white, with the gentle sounds of the ocean becoming muffled at the silent fall of the first snow.

"It's begun," she whispered.

"I estimate we have about three months worth of supplies," Shinji thought aloud.

"This is going to last longer than that, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes… much longer." He looked towards the sky. "The new Ice Age has begun."

She stepped closer to him, a gentle shiver making its way over her body as she clung to him. Shinji wrapped his right arm around her gently, his hand resting on her stomach near her waistline. Together they watched the snow….

* * *

Two months past since the day Shinji and Asuka resolved to end their personal weakness. During this time they began to practice with their inborn abilities. While Asuka had yet to show the dramatic changes that Shinji was going though, she was no slackbag when it came to pure power.

It was discovered that Shinji's powers seemed to be focused from the elemental force of lightning. With concentration he was able to produce sparks of electrical energy that jumped along his fingers and up his arms. Of course the day he discovered this was a bit awkward.

* * *

**One Month Earlier**

* * *

"Come on! I wanna see them again!"

Shinji was nervous about this in many ways. He hadn't attempted to extend his wings since the day he fought Legion, and focusing that much energy was incredibly taxing. She'd been bugging him about it for the last two weeks though, and he was finally relenting.

Shinji took off his simple pullover tossing it aside, leaving him in the somewhat chilly room with no protection from the waist up. He shivered for a moment as gooseflesh made itself visible across his chest. As Asuka chuckled at the sight, he raised his AT Field using its warmth to protect him. As soon as he stopped shivering, he focused his energy internally trying to draw on the wellspring of power he accessed in a moment of panic weeks ago.

It took time but finally he felt the energy within him become more focused and felt the flesh on his back begin to ripple. It wasn't uncomfortable by any stretch… it felt more as if he were stretching disused back muscles. Finally, the air in the room shimmered with energy and his wings pulled from within their confines, growing to the same size they did before. A pair of pure white angelic wings extended behind him in all their glory. He clenched his fists and focused on the wings, allowing them to stretch and relax to get out the remaining kinks.

Asuka gazed upon them with awe. She stood up from the couch and walked over almost a bit too eagerly causing Shinji to step back. This immediately caused Asuka to stop, realizing that his wings may still be a source of apprehension for him.

"May… may I touch them?" she asked tentatively.

Shinji tried to relax his posture a bit and nodded. He didn't really understand his sudden apprehension… but perhaps it had much to do with the fact that he was taught the angels were evil beings that deserved only scorn. The boy watched as Asuka took the last few steps forward carefully; as if she were afraid he would run away like a scared animal if she approached too quickly.

He held his breath as she came close and gently reached out to stroke the top edge of his left wing. The contact caused his eyes to flutter closed as new and wonderful feelings surged though him. Asuka was surprised at the softness of the feathers and was quite destracted as a result. Once she was closer, Shinji took the initiative.

With a yelp of surprise, Asuka was grabbed around the waste and pulled into her lover's embrace. Her back was against his chest as his wings closed over her like a protective blanket. The warmth and softness surrounded her and she sighed contently. Now she wished she were naked against his flesh with those soft wings brushing gently against her skin. She tried to imagine what it would feel like and let a soft sigh, almost a soft moan escape her lips.

Shinji instantly realized what she was thinking about and blushed, thankfully without her noticing. For many minutes they remained cuddled together in this way before she reluctantly pulled, signaling her desire to end the touch. Shinji released her without hesitation but the sensation of her body against his didn't leave immediately. He felt his body trying desperately to grasp that feeling again.

"They're beautiful and soft," she said barely above a whisper. "Not what I was expecting."

Shinji smiled a bit. He reached out again when a spark of electrical energy suddenly jumped from him to her causing her to yelp in surprise and jump back.

"Static?" she asked.

"I don't think so," he replied as he looked at his hand. He focused again watching an electric blue glow begin to take hold over his hand. It almost looked like Saint Elmo's fire for a moment before sparks of electrical energy began jumping around his hand.

"Shinji-kun?" Asuka whispered, looking a bit scared.

"Well this is new," he mused.

"You… you didn't exhibit anything like this during the fight with Legion."

Shinji nodded and stretched out his hand causing another spark to jump from his hand striking a nearby lightbulb. The poor piece of glass and vacuum sealed filament had been inactive since the Third Impact and exploded causing both of the children to jump. Asuka started laughing at their foolishness and Shinji simply smiled sheepishly.

"I gotta get this under control…."

* * *

Since that day, he has focused on the self discipline required to control his new ability. With experimentation he discovered that he could access this power even when he didn't have his wings out. He learned he could manifest it in different ways; a stroke of lightning, a cone worthy of certain science fiction characters or as balls of electrical power surrounded by an aura of energy. They practiced outside on days when the snow wasn't so bad. With Shinji and Asuka able to produce warmth from their AT Fields, they were able to keep their small house from becoming completely snowbound… of course they learned they needed to maintain the field a bit longer to keep the porch from becoming so horribly iced up that walking on it was impossible… or amusing.

* * *

**One Such Day**

* * *

The field of snow had been melted down several times already this week. As the snow slowly fell about the children it melted and evaporated almost instantly. Asuka had been trying to figure out if she had wings of her own but a new ability made itself noticeable to her.

Shinji and Asuka continued one of their sparring matches. Ever since they began this little project, Asuka had been training Shinji in close combat so that he didn't have to rely completely on his ability to go berserk to win battles. He was learning faster than Asuka gave him credit for.

Standing opposite each other, Asuka in long pants, boots and long sleeved red shirt stood across from Shinji who wore the same, only in black. After a moment Asuka rushed at him doing a short jump before dropping into a quick sliding sweep. Shinji had easily leapt over her, flipping as he did. He spun as he landed to face her in time to nearly get kicked in the head. Blocking that attack, he stepped back as she continued to press her perceived advantage. Once she made her mistake, he took his turn and delivered a sharp strike to her stomach while grabbing her arm and throwing her over his shoulder.

Asuka got back up, easily shrugging off the strike as it was only sparring strength. But frustration was clearly visible in her eyes. Shinji wasn't about to back down though, intent on showing Asuka that he learned what she taught him. He didn't know if he was trying to show her up, or simply prove himself.

Shinji this time pressed the attack forcing Asuka on the defensive, two quick jabs later, Asuka found her self thrown again, and she slid and rolled back up onto he knees. This time the frustration was very visible on her face. Shinji was beating her! Her of all people! She wasn't taking this lying down, she still had her pride after all.

Signaling her annoyance, she punched the ground hard but what happened at that instant made her jump with a yelp of surprise. Where her fist impacted the ground, a ring of fire erupted and shot out for twenty feet around. The flames didn't hurt her at all but Shinji was forced to jump over the ring and watched apprehensively as it rapidly approached the house. It went out long before it ever reached it though.

Sighing in relief he looked back at Asuka who was now staring at her hand in disbelief. Asuka clenched the fist watching as her hand erupted in red flames. They danced along her hand as she opened it and she felt the warmth of the heat and energy they produced… but they didn't burn her, nor did they seem to affect what she was wearing.

"Ha!" she finally called out triumphantly. "Looks like you're not the only one with power here Shinji-kun!"

"I'm impressed," Shinji said with enthusiasm. "I knew you had to have something in you!"

Asuka looked at the flames. Unlike Shinji's feeble first attempts at grasping control of his powers, Asuka felt as if she knew how to control the energy. Perhaps it was her military training which gave her far great self-discipline compared to her lover. Whatever the reason was, she would not have to suffer though a trial and error process like he did.

Shinji realized her new power was probably the most appropriate; Asuka had always had a fiery personality and now her ability to control and produce flames seemed to reinforce that this would always be so. Of course, this was one of the many aspects of her personality that drew him to her.

"Damn right!" she said triumphantly. "Now all I need is wings."

Shinji smiled at that… but his joy was quickly cut off as he heard a howl in the distance that sounded a bit close for his comfort.

"Asuka… house… now."

Asuka nodded but before she could even get started on moving a nearby snow bank exploded causing both children to dodge and shield themselves with their AT-Fields. As soon as they recovered, they saw what they feared.

It was a wolf… but not just any wolf. It was massive, nearly three and half meters at the shoulder and covered in dark fur. Its eyes burned with a red glow that Shinji remembered seeing only twice in his life. Its face had additional bony growths on it that resembled spikes. They ran under its chin, over the ridges of its eyes, at its leg joints and even across its back in three rows. Its massive paws were tipped in nasty black nails and it's long, nearly four inch teeth glistened with saliva and fresh blood. Whatever this monstrous wolf was, it had fed recently… and it was still hungry.

And Shinji knew these creatures seldom traveled alone. Glancing to his left he saw two more make its way over the snow bank, stalking low as they landed and began to circle behind him. To his right he saw another one. Ahead of him where Asuka had recovered, two more made their presence known.

"Six of them," he noted grimly. The one that was between him and his love however, was by far the largest. He must have been the Alpha, but there was no way to know for sure. Matters however had gotten worse when he realized that these creatures had at least rudimentary control over their AT-Fields… likely enough to nullify their protection.

"What the fuck are they?" Asuka said low but loud enough for Shinji to hear.

"Some kind of Dire Wolves apparently," he replied. "Careful Asuka… they have some basic instinctual control over their AT-Fields."

"How do you know that?"

"I can sense it," he replied balefully. "They likely can't use their fields for defense… but they can nullify our defenses. We'll have to be quick if we're going to make it though this. Ready?"

She nodded.

One of the wolves to Shinji's right made its move, lunging at him. Shinji ducked and rolled under the attack, firing a bolt of lightning straight up as he did so. The stroke of electrical fury punched straight though the beast and the yelp he heard told him he struck home.

One near Asuka lunged at the same instance and Asuka met it half way with a spinning kick directly to its muzzle. A sharp yelp indicating a direct hit as it flew into another snow bank spraying it with blue blood.

Angelic blood….

"Not good," she whispered as she saw the damage she had done begin to regenerate.

Two more wolves jumped Shinji as the body of the first struck the ground. Shinji knew they had to have cores of their own and was lucky enough to lance the first one through it, killing it outright. He quickly jumped left, dodging teeth that snapped as he moved. There were only four on offense now, and they were the smaller ones. What was the Alpha waiting on?

Asuka was jumped by a second one, forcing her down to the ground. She fought if off, grasping its muzzle in both hands and trying to get free. The first wolf she kicked was fully regenerated now and made a lunge towards her throat. She let go of the muzzle with one hand and fired a blast of flame at it which seemed to ward it for the moment. The wolf on top of her also broke off its attack upon seeing the flames.

"Of course," Asuka said triumphantly. "All animals inherently fear fire… even supped up angelic ones." She summoned the flames around her in a twirling maelstrom warding the attacks of the other two.

Shinji shocked the hell out of another wolf causing it to twitch on the ground. As soon as the other lunged, he spun and lanced it with a bolt causing it to back off. He needed his full power at this point so off went his shirt. With his wings fully extended, the wolves suddenly became more defensive.

Asuka stood in her ring of fire watching the wolves circle but unable to approach.

"You're move," she taunted. She saw the Alpha begin to move closer, snarling as it approached.

It lunged, straight though the ring of fire and slammed into her by turning so that its full body mass impacted. It threw her back causing her to lose focus on her fire ring and hit a tree. She saw stars but shook them off. It was too late however, the Alpha lunged and managed to catch Asuka by the shoulder. She yelled in pain as dagger-like teeth sunk into her shoulder and she was being thrown and shaken around like an errant child with a toy it hated. The shaking movements made it difficult for Asuka to concentrate, and the jarring movements were overstressing her spine and her joints to the point where they could snap or crack at any time.

Suddenly she was thrown and she realized why. Shinji had noticed her plight and launched a bolt of lightning into the side of the Alpha forcing it to lose its hold on her. She spun in mid air and landed softly in a crouched position, quickly shaking off the dizziness. Her shirt was ruined and blue blood stained everything. It didn't dawn on her just then that her blood was the wrong color. With a warcry she launched back on the offensive as she felt something rip in her back. She'd worry about that later as well.

Shinji after getting Asuka free caught another wolf attempting to go for his throat. He threw it down to the ground and jumped on it before it could escape. His right hand pulled back… a flash of white energy engulfed it as it became armored with a taloned gauntlet of celestial silver. Lightning crackled about it as he thrust down into the wolf. It shrieked and cried in pain as the weapon tore though its flesh and grasped its core. Without ripping it out Shinji crushed it with all his might killing the monster.

He then threw the same arm, dripping with bluish blood towards the next lunging wolf, erecting his AT Field and throwing it forward offensively. The wolf collided with it, not expecting the action and broke several bones in its face and chest. Shinji then stepped forward and unleashed two cones of electrical energy into the wolf causing it to twitch and writhe as its blood vessels exploded. The energy became far too much for it to handle and its core shattered under the stress. He turned to look at his love… and his eyes widened in shock.

One of the wolves had already been incinerated by her angelic fire, the second was crying in pain as most of its left side had been completely burned away. She was now wrestling with the head of the Alpha, her wings flailing behind her, great feathery appendages of crimson feathers Her shirt was torn open both in front and behind leaving her in scraps and a bra that was no longer held fast (likely due to the sudden appearance of her wings).

She slammed the Alpha down with a great thrust of her left fist into its face then proceeded to kick the thing over, watching it fly nearly ten feet before it crashed down. Before it could get up, Asuka rushed in delivering an opened palm strike into its chest cavity and unleashing a cutting burst of flame at the instant of the impact. The fire punched though its core and out the other side, killing it. The last remaining wolf regenerated its damage, but seeing its pack mates and its leader dead, it lost heart and jumped over the snow bank, escaping into the wilderness.

Asuka screamed at it making it run faster as her aura exploded into flames. Now breathing hard she considered herself.

"Scheiße… I ruined this," she lamented. "It was my favorite shirt! Gott verdammt hat fickend uber Wölfe!" She kicked snow its general direction as her aura finally calmed down she started getting light headed. "Scheiße." She started to fall but Shinji was fast enough to catch her as his clawed gauntlet faded away, carefully avoiding hurting her wings.

"Asuka!" he said trying to keep her attention focused. "Are you ok?"

At first she didn't respond then with a soft moan of pain she began to move on her own. Her wings faded away leaving her mostly unprotected. Shinji's gaze shifted upwards and he saw that another hard snow was coming.

"I better get you inside." He scooped her up and hurriedly got her into the house. Once she was laid on the couch she moaned again gently grasping her torn shoulder. Though the external damage was mostly repaired it was still in a lot of pain.

"Shinji-kun," she whispered, "what happened to me?"

"Some one rang a bell," he replied with a slight smile. It was a reference to a pre-second impact movie they used to play a lot around Christmas time. Asuka did get the joke and smiled before passing out to complete her healing.

Shinji sighed and stood up. He checked himself over and saw he was mostly ok.

"I suppose I should get dinner ready… she'll be hungry when she wakes up."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

* * *

A glowing tube of orange dominated the center of dark room. Within it, a single female subject with azure hair and closed eyes floated almost dispassionately. Around the room were machines connected to the tube both on the ground and in the ceiling, but these were not the devices of man. Dark steel constructs of hell-forged metal and gothic design ringed the circular room. Metal tubes like a thousand tendrils of some madman's nightmare connected to the top and bottom of the tube, linking the hellish devices to the center, where the angel was held captive.

Around the room stood several demons, humanoid in shape but that is where the similarity ended. Their reptilian skin and bat-like wings a testament to just how different they were. Two of the creatures watched the tube while the three others in the room worked on the various machines. One of the bystanders had a biomechanical device of hell-forged steel over one eye and extra limbs grafted to his body also created of the same metal. Unlike the others in the room, he did not have wings but a second set of crafted limbs attached where his wings should be.

The other bystander was a stone grey gargoyle, similar to the one Shinji defeated.

"Cyclos," it hissed at his heavily modified companion. "Are you sure you can get the information out of her? We aren't even sure if she knows."

"Oh," the metal monster hissed. "She knows… oh yes," he said with a maddening chuckle like a scientist that cracked long ago, "she knows much this one. The trick will be to crack her mind... angelic minds are so strong… and this one is no different."

"So long as she stays comatose," one of the tech demons working added, "we won't have any problems."

"Have faith Morthos," Cyclos added. "Or was that too angelic of a word for you?"

The Legionnaire hissed at his mad companion turning towards him threateningly. "Legion will not tolerate any failures. We need to know what she knows… as soon as her mind cracks, you will tell us what we want to know."

"Of course," Cyclos replied, "the identities and details regarding the Envoys."

"Her heart rate is increasing!" one of his techs yelled out. "Brain activity is increasing rapidly! She's coming out of the torpor!"

"Nonononono no! It's far too soon! We aren't ready!"

"You assured us that there wouldn't be any problems," Morthos responded dryly.

"You have to remember she was derived from Lilith herself! She's more than a mere angel. Oh yes, so much more."

Cyclos ran to the tube as the girl within started twitching as if on the verge of waking up.

"Increase the flow of the sedatives 150 percent!" he ordered.

"We already tried that, she resisting!" a tech yelled in response.

Morthos growled at Cyclos. "This is your fault," he snapped. "She's waking up. Either get her under control or kill her."

As he began to fade away, Cyclos yelled out, "Where are you going?"

"Away… I don't rate your chances."

As the demon doctor turned towards the tube his eye widened with shock as she had suddenly stopped twitching and her eyes opened. Crimson orbs stared into his demonic and unnatural ones. The look on her face wasn't of wrath or hate…it looked like mild annoyance. Of course if he understood half of what he knew about this girl… and he liked to think he did… he knew that she was furious beyond words and very bad things were about to happen.

Before he could issue another order, she threw out her AT Field in all directions causing the tube to shatter and sedative-laced LCL to spray all the onlookers. The force threw him back against the doors with a resounding boom. Techs scrambled to get into attack positions to subdue their prize, which was now standing on the bottom platform that used to be the tube she was held in. Cyclos noted the temperature in the room dropped sharply.

Though naked as a jaybird, she seemed uncaring of that fact. She reached up and pushed some of her hair out of her eyes. The hair was a typical boy-cut but long enough to get in her eyes if it was damp. Taking a deep breath she expelled the rest of the fluid out of her lungs at the doctor himself in a gesture of contempt. That action prompted two of the techs to launch themselves at her from her flanks to try to restrain her.

The girl responded by throwing her arms out in both their directions using her AT-Field to slam them into opposite walls hard enough to liquefy their internal organs and shatter their bones. Still alive they shrieked in pain as she turned towards the third tech that was now cowering in the corner. Cyclos took this opportunity while she was turned away to step back, fading into his own shadow and away from the melee.

The girl ignored his escape and stepped down from the platform. Her right hand closed as a wave of angelic energy focused around it hardening and extending into a forked spear that would have been far too familiar to high tier members of NERV… only it was human sized.

"No!" the demon cried as she took the spear in two hands and slammed it though his core, instantly killing him. One of the remaining two managed to regenerate enough to get back to his feet, only to be captured within her AT-Field and pulled closer as if by telekinetic force. He tried to use his own to erode it and get free but the power of her field was too much for him to counter.

With no hesitation she walked to the other prone demon and lanced him though the back into his core, also killing him.

"Mercy!" the last captive demon cried. "Aren't you angels supposed to have mercy?!"

"I am not the Angel of Mercy," she replied in a monotone voice that sent chills up his spine. "I am Ayanami Rei… Envoy of the Beginning." With barely a sweep of her hand, the AT-Field around the demon constricted three times, the first forcing him fetal, the second crushing him and causing blood to fill the limited space within the field, and the last liquefying him instantly. As she walked towards the door she released her field and the sphere of gore splattered onto the ground and flowed freely, the only part still solid was the shattered remains of his core.

At the door, she thew her field forward with enough force to tear the normally sliding doors out of their restraints and send them down the corridor beyond. For a moment there was silence before demonic shouts echoed down the hallway. The moment that happened black bolts of power from the rest of the residents of this hellish place flew at her.

They bounced off her instantly reasserted AT-Field like rain off the hull of a tank as she walked forward, lance in hand. The demons before her, she noted were mixed breeds from several powerful demonic spawn. This meant nothing to her as she unleashed her own barrage of angelic power from her free left hand, disintegrating any demon that tried to stop her progress and lancing any that tried to take her physically. This was no battle… it was a massacre.

As the last group attempted to make their exit, they suddenly found that the air around them grew very cold. Within moments they were frozen in place, unable to move. The angelic assailant took her time walking past the demons giving each a sound thwack with her spear causing the ice to shatter.

Finally after nearly an hour and hundreds of destroyed and impaled demons later, Rei emerged from the complex into the world of ruin… in icy aura of razor sharp crystalline shards spun around her, driven on the winds of her aura. The ground was already snowed over here and she could sense that the world would get colder still… but she didn't feel it as ice was a part of her very nature. Concentrating she summoned forth a light garb of white cloth that covered her from above her breasts down to her waistline. The bottom was a long strip of cloth that hung both in front and behind giving the illusion of perhaps a sorceress style dress, but left her legs free to move. A sheet of white cloth came over her shoulders like a cloak and flowed in the wind before her.

After taking another moment to survey the field she sighed deeply.

"I must find the other Envoys," she said to no one. "I still can not sense them." This worried her greatly but with her powers still awakening, she had no choice but to proceed the hard way.

And so she began to walk south, to the last place she knew they were, and the most likely place for them to be…

… the ruins of Tokyo-3.

* * *

_And so we survived our first encounter with the dreaded angelic Dire Wolves. Thankfully, not many creatures in this world were blessed with celestial power, for if there were more, it is difficult to say if we would have survived for long._

_Asuka had begun to find her power, and mine continued to advance as well giving us both a better chance at survival. The problem remained… what would we do once our supplies ran out?_

_As it stood, we learned that Rei had been tracking us for a while after she escaped Hellforge. When she finally caught up to us, things started making a lot more sense. In time I will reveal what it was we spoke of and what it has to do with us now._

_It feels weird writing in this thing, but Asuka insisted I document everything I could remember that was important. I'm not sure how much she would like me talking about our relationship… but it is just as important as everything else that took place._

_Long ago, I wished I was never involved with NERV. Later I wished that Asuka wasn't so mean to me. I wished Rei would open up to me more and let me in. Everything sorted itself out in the end though… it took the shattering of my ego and the end of the world to "set things right". But I knew damn well that this wasn't right._

_Third Impact should have never fucking happened. This entire mess is my fault. There I said it… this mess belongs to me alone, no matter how anyone else tries to explain away the blame. Oh yes, SEELE was trying to initiate Third Impact… and yes, my father wanted to control it to get mom back…and yes there were a myriad of other events and players that conspired to make it all happen… but in the end… the power was mine… and this is what I did with it. I fucking killed everyone! Can you even begin to comprehend how that makes me feel right now? It was a stupid decision and it allowed for this rather impressive mess to happen._

_But don't worry… I've actually stopped actively beating myself up over it for a while now. I'm focused on what needs to be done… and nothing about our current situation will make any sense to you until you hear the rest of my tale…_

_Grab some popcorn if you can find any that's still eatable, grab a beer… hell just grab whatever you usually get for a good movie or a long tale… because we're just getting started._

_Shinji Ikari_

_November 21st, 2017_

* * *

**End of Chapter 3**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try to fake it but all wounds are there to see…_


	4. The Duel

**IV: The Duel**

* * *

A month passed since the day the children fought the wolves, and Shinji had begun to know fear. Their supplies were almost depleted leaving them growing ever hungrier. Without food, he didn't rate their chances.

"How much do we have left?" Asuka asked fearfully as Shinji went over their small stock.

"Not enough to last the week," he noted grimly. "It looks like we have little choice now. Tokyo-3 doesn't have anything left to give us. We'll need to move on."

Asuka sighed as she watched the snow continue to fall. The winds howled, promising further hardships to come.

"At least we have our AT-Fields to protect us."

"We won't be able to use them," Shinji replied, "at least not extensively. It takes more energy when we do. If we keep the fields up, we'll likely starve to death before we ever reach the next city."

Asuka looked fearfully at her love. "But I thought the S2 Engine was a source of unlimited power."

"We are not full angels Asuka… we're closer to what Rei was I think... Nephilim. We still need to eat in order to survive."

And Asuka had noticed that their need to eat had increased ever since their powers started becoming more pronounced. Apparently, their dietary requirements increased in proportion to their power.

"So what do we do? Do we even have enough supplies to travel?"

"Barely." He stood up and looked around the house. "We were able to find that imported winter gear… it will help, but it's not the best for this situation." Sighing deeply, he drew upon his resolve. "It will have to do."

Asuka nodded and watched as the sky… at least what she could see of it past the white haze, and it was darkening.

"We'll set out tomorrow then," she replied. "Get an early start on it. But where will we go?"

"We'll do a once over of what's left of Tokyo-3 then head for Tokyo-2," he replied. "It's nearby and it may still have some supplies and places to stay."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

* * *

Ten miles south of what used to be the city of Yaita, Rei continued her trek southward. Inwardly she was worried. Her powers had not increased since she had awakened meaning she was still unable to fly and traverse the skies to ease her travels. The ice and snow had no effect on her but the travel was hard.

She continued her trek along the Tohoku Expressway. Though many cars littered the roadways still, the travel here was easier than attempting to traverse the wilderness. Much of the old traffic was buried beneath a thick layer of snow and ice anyway, forcing her to walk around the occasional large truck or crashed car but leaving her path mostly clear. Her bare feet showed no signs of frostbite and her pale skin was taking on a shimmer in the blowing snow. Even with the outfit she summoned she was barely clothed, but she would never feel the weather around her.

"Why are my powers taking so long to recover?" she wondered. "What did the demon spawn do to me? Did they try to steal my powers or simply seal them away?" She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt they wanted to know the locations of the other Envoys, to prevent them from calling for help. But to do so they needed to know what she knew. Sealing her powers would have made her easier to control, but they never finished the process. She awoke before they had the chance to complete whatever ritual did this to her.

"I must discover a way to undo what they have done to me."

It was then that she heard a foul shift in the wind. She leapt away at the last minute losing her cloak as she did so, before spinning around and sliding to a stop. The hanging part of her outfit caught in the wind pulled to her left. Based on the wind direction alone, she knew she was facing south again but she never saw it approach. Whatever it was came from high above.

Nearby an icy gargoyle landed on a street lamp, glaring down at Rei. It licked its lips and spoke…

"Wayward angel beneath my feet, me thinks you'd make a tasty treat!"

Rei's eyes narrowed down. "Feeder," she whispered. They were minions of one of the Seven Greater Daemons, this particular species served Balmoog – Daemon Prince of Gluttony.

"Angel angel angel! Me can taste you already… you taste of fresh blueberries and blood. Can't wait! Can't wait!"

"I have little patience for this," Rei called back as her icy aura appeared around her. She knew there were more of them though… they always traveled in packs.

"Rush rush rush… why must you rush!" The demon shot back. Two of its fellows landed on vehicles nearby leering at her but not approaching any closer. They snapped and chuckled evilly in an attempt to unnerve her.

"I know you're not going to try to eat me."

"Of course not… me'd love to… but not until the masters know what you know," the demon said gleefully. "Oh how me wish we could now… you smell so fresh!"

"Why would your masters send such weaklings as you to deal with me… do you even know who I am?"

The demon leered. "Do me care? Am me caring about that?"

"I am the Envoy of the Beginning," she replied with conviction.

"Envoy?!" The demon nearly jumped off the streetlamp, its feet held on and its wings flapped a few times rapidly before it settled. "Envoy! No wonder the masters want you alive! You'll lead us to the others you will!"

"What makes you think I'm even looking for them?"

"You are… you must… me knows this." He said at length. "It is your destiny."

"And it is your destiny to die here," Rei replied coldly as she raised a hand and brought it down quickly. The demon was suddenly impaled by massive icicles that grew with incredible speed out of the streetlamp itself. It had barely any time to shriek as it was viciously impaled, one catching him in the throat to cut off his scream.

The other two demons hissed as they launched themselves at her. Rei waited until the last second before she made her move. She shifted positions ten feet as if sliding on ice and threw a blast of energy where she was. The cross-shaped explosion sent both Feeders in two directions. The first was snatched out of the air with Rei's AT-Field and slammed into a frozen truck with enough force to set off the latent fuel still in its tank. The resulting explosion destroyed the monster. The second was left to slam into a nearby car going through the frozen windshield. Rei turned towards where the demon landed and before it could escape the vehicle, massive icicles lanced upwards as she raised her left hand.

"Now… where were we?" She raised her AT-Field upwards tearing the top of the streetlamp off and dragging it down with its passenger still impaled upon it. The spike of ice though its throat retracted allowing the demon to regenerate its vocal cords and hiss at Rei. It was afraid now but still defiant. The glow of the fire behind her made her even scarier.

"Evil evil thing you are," it hissed.

"Pot and kettle," she deadpanned. "It is obvious Balmoog is in on what Morthos began. I want to know what other demon princes are involved in this."

"Me won't tell you anything," the demon hissed again. "You can't threaten me. Go ahead and kill me!"

"I'll do worse than kill you… I'll leave you here to starve."

Its eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh I would. And when your master finds you, what do you think he's going to do to you for failing him? Tell me what I want to know and I'll end you mercifully."

The demon finally relented. "Fine… me know Avarice is also involved. But beyond that, me sware… me not know… not know anymore than that! Please please tasty angel, end me!"

"One more question… is he here or did he send a lieutenant?"

"Jhorgandahar… he's in Tokyo-2."

Rei didn't hesitate to impale the monster on her lance, putting it out of its misery. She hated theses things almost as much as she hated the color red. They were pathetic lesser creatures that vied for positions of power in the unholy hierarchy. Even if most of them failed to rise in power, they continued to scheme and plot even against their own kind. They were despicable monsters worthy of nothing more than to be purged from the world.

Jhorgandahar was another matter entirely. He was a warrior demon who had a sense of honor. While odd for a demon it was not unheard of, especially since he served both the Daemon Avarice and the Daemon General Asteroth, and the great general would not tolerate underhanded dealings.

If Avarice was taking an interest it the Tokyo-2 area, he may attempt to expand into Tokyo-3. The other Envoys were in danger….

She quickly ran down the road, scooping up her cloak and throwing it back on as she ran. She may not be able to fly… but she has no need for food or rest. Urgency had taken her over completely… no time to dally.

"I have to get to Tokyo-3 before Jhorgandahar does."

* * *

**The Next Day**

* * *

Three hours after the pair began their trek, they finished their sweep of Tokyo-3. Parts of the city had apparently fallen into the massive crater that was once the Geofront making the entire remains of the once thriving metropolis unstable. Asuka, having plenty of experience and knowledge in the realm of physics noted the remains of the city were likely to collapse within a week or less.

They took the SUV, hoping it would carry the two of them most of the way to Tokyo-2. As it happens, they managed to almost reach the outskirts of the city when the vehicle finally failed from lack of fuel. They left it behind, taking the food supplies in backpacks and bundling up as best as possible to guard against the cold. Every so often they would sneak a few minutes of use out of their AT-Fields to warm up, but never more than that.

It was late afternoon by the time they reached Tokyo-2, and they were out of food. The city was utterly disserted as they expected it to be but held for them the promise of more provisions. The buildings were frozen against harsh winter chill and it seemed that entropy had already reached this far. The towers of the central city were little more than icy monuments grasping at the winter struck sky. Rows of long icicles covered the overhangs of every building and most of the vehicles that were abandoned at the onset of Third Impact were already buried in the snow.

The children trudged onwards though the frozen streets looking for anything that might provide shelter for the time being. They found an old general supply store that looked promising. Using his AT-Field, Shinji melted the snow and ice from the doorway and entered. The shelves were still stocked with cans of food; meats, fish, vegetables. Shinji smiled and began taking stock on what they would need to do to make this place livable.

Asuka looked around, trying to get a feel for this place. Ever since she first saw the city from a distance she had a bad feeling but didn't vocalize it. Something was already here… she could feel it.

"It looks like we'll have enough supplies here to last us a good long while," Shinji said with genuine joy in his voice. He opened a pull tab on a can of imported Vienna sausage and began eating it.

"We can't stay here," Asuka said. "Something doesn't feel right about this place."

Shinji quickly devoured the contents of the can and put it down. "How do you mean? Do you sense something?"

"I sense…" her voice was distant when she spoke. Her eyes seemed out of focus and her breathing became very even. After a silence that was almost too long for Shinji, she finally said, "Malevolence."

Shinji approached her noting that the sky was starting to get dark. "Malevolence?"

"Something is here… it knows we are here… and it doesn't want us here."

"Asuka-chan… how can you…" and then it struck Shinji as well. A wave of emotion spread over him. He sensed hatred and aggression, and it was close. "Wait…."

"It's a bit early for it to get this dark," Asuka noted as the light outside seemed to become unnaturally dim. The wind picked up at that moment and it almost sounded like a demonic sigh as it tore though the streets.

Shinji's eyes widened as he sensed the dark energy approaching quickly. "Oh shit…" he whispered realizing the magnitude of the energy he sensed.

"They come!" Asuka managed to get out a few seconds before the windows shattered and demonic grunts the size of German Shepherds bounded though the opening. The sheer press of demonic AT-Fields instantly canceled out their protections as the monsters that produced them swelled forth like a tidal wave of darkness and sharpened claws.

Asuka responded immediately summoning forth a wave of holy fire and pushing it though the enemy as if she were attacking with her AT-Field. The lesser demons were unable to withstand the sheer intensity of the purifying flames and many were instantly incinerated on contact. The remainder managed to change directions and get back out.

The moment the mass was pushed away Shinji and Asuka ran out of the building, jumping though the now destroyed window. On impulse Shinji summoned his gauntlets. It was the first time Asuka noticed them.

"Where did you get those?!" she shouted over the roar of the flames and the shrieking of the demonic spawn.

"Don't know," he replied. "I think its part of my power but I'm not sure."

The first time he used the gauntlets, he only had one, and it was over his right hand. This time he was able to summon and sustain a pair of these razor edged artifacts of angelic might. As soon as he was clear of the store front, demonic warriors armed with massive blackened steel swords assailed him. They were wingless and resembled goat-men with ragged fur and twisted horns. Their red eyes locked onto Shinji and their cloven hooves found purchase in the hardened black ice over the street. Much of the snow was melted away by Asuka's attack but the ice remained, and Shinji quickly found he was at a disadvantage as his footing was less stable then theirs was.

Asuka launched blasts of purifying energy though the ranks of demons coming closer, trying desperately to keep them back. Suddenly, a demon warrior rushed at her from her left. Instinctively she blocked the attack with a flattened palm. The blade of the goat-man's weapon stopped dead less than an inch as if it hit some invisible barrier. Asuka realized this was physically impossible then watched as her left hand took hold of the hilt of a sword and the blade formed between her hand and the demon's weapon.

She grinned evilly and pushed the demon back throwing her free had out to her side. Another blade appeared instantly in that hand… a pair of fiery swords of angelic design had come into being, their hilts crafted of a fiery red metal, the pommels adorned with a red ruby each, and their blades were of a metal the color of flame.

The goat-man stepped back in fear at this new development and Asuka rushed him before he had a chance to recover his courage. Within seconds he was cut into pieces, the last slash cutting straight though his core. Other demonic infantry landed nearby at that moment preparing to strike. Asuka simply egged them on as the body of the first one she killed disintegrated behind her.

"Nächste," she taunted. Though the demons didn't speak German they knew she was taunting them some how and rushed her. Asuka began a dance of death with her angelic blades. Her movements were fluid as if she had done this for years. Though her EVA training never prepared her for dual wielding swords, she was none-the-less using them as if she had been her whole life. One by one, demonic infantry fell before her blades.

Meanwhile Shinji dodged the attacks of another goat-man. As he slid to a stop, a flash of light enveloped his feet changing the winter boots he wore into angelically plated boots of a lightning blue color with black detailing. He didn't notice but was thankful he suddenly acquired traction. He launched himself forward brandishing his claws and began to rend flesh with every ounce of his angelic strength. The demons had little in the way of protection against Shinji's combat style. He had let himself fall into the zone; he saw the battle with crystal clarity and unleashed the beast within himself. His angelic aura glowed around him as his wings erupted from his back, once again destroying his clothing in the back. This time his aura was also pulsing with sparks of electrical death.

Ten minutes and hundreds of dead demons later, the fight ended with Shinji and Asuka back to back. The demons had formed a circle around them but they were keeping their distance. The children weren't even winded yet.

"I would have expected them to keep fighting," Shinji commented, "at least until they wore us down so they could finish us."

"Ja," Asuka agreed. "Odd that they suddenly stopped…. Aufgestaut dämonen… what are they waiting for?"

"_**They won't attack unless I tell them to,"**_ came a rough voice from beyond the rabble. The children watched as the fiends parted letting though a nearly seven foot tall humanoid demon dressed in armor and carrying a pair of demonic long swords.

"You must be the man in charge," Shinji said dryly. "I need to log a complaint. The welcoming committee here leaves much to be desired."

"_**True enough,"**_ the daemon agreed, ignoring Shinji's attempt at humor. _**"They are just grunts after all. Not warriors like us."**_

"If it's not too much trouble, I've little time for small talk. If this is your territory let us grab some provision and we'll be on our merry…or is that too much to hope for?"

"_**As much as I'd like to do that Shinji, I'm afraid I can't allow you to simply leave."**_

Shinji's eyes grew hard. "How do you know my name?" he asked in a low and dangerous voice.

"_**I know all about you… I know of the angels you killed, the battles you've fought and the mistake you've made."**_

"Mistake?"

"_**Coming back here,"**_ he confirmed. _**"The angels had their chance and they blew it. Humans took over and now their time is gone. This is our time now. You should have stayed ascended angel."**_

"That's the second time one of your kind has said that to me! I'm getting sick of you assholes trying to tell me what I should and shouldn't do!" Shinji clenched his fists causing his knuckles to pop in the confines of his gauntlets. This actually made the demons around him flinch. "For whatever reason, I'm here now so you're all going to have to fucking deal with it! God knows I've had to."

The daemon laughed at that boisterously and many of the demons echoed him, though theirs was a quiet chuckle. When it quieted down the daemon looked at Shinji directly.

"_**What makes you think God even exists? I've got news for you angel… what you call God is not what you think it is. But you'll have plenty of time to learn that soon enough… assuming you survive this that is."**_

"Seems a bit unfair to put all these demons against us," Shinji commented. "You should have brought a second army to help even up the odds."

"_**While I admire your bravery, you must know you are well beyond your limits now. However… they're not going to attack you,"**_ he replied. _**"No, I reserve that pleasure for myself. Oh! Where are my manners? I completely forgot to introduce myself... I am Lieutenant Jhorgandahar one of the Hands of Asteroth. I've actually been looking forward to this."**_

"How so?" Shinji asked suspiciously.

"_**A warrior with your reputation must be great indeed. I've heard that you recently killed one of the Scions of Legion. Avarice himself seems to think you maybe one of the so called prophesized Envoys."**_

"Avarice? Envoys? What the hell are you talking about?"

"_**Someone fell asleep during history class,"**_ Jhorgandahar noted. _**"Never-the-less, it is not your knowledge that intrigues me; it's your fighting spirit. I have fought countless foes over the eons of my existence but none have been able to give me what it is I seek. Can you?"**_

"What is it you seek?"

Jhorgandahar smiled. _**"A challenge. Certainly you could potentially provide me with one. This is the deal… face me… just the two of us in a dance of death. If you win… and you manage to kill me, my minions will allow you to take what supplies you desire from the city and allow you to leave without further harassment. Should I win, I get your soul."**_

"And Asuka?"

"_**If she manages to make it outside the city limits, she goes free, otherwise she shares your fate."**_

"I'll accept on one condition."

Jhorgandahar's eyes narrowed. _**"What condition? And be careful how you answer… I won't tolerate treachery."**_

"Asuka can take supplies and leave unmolested even if I lose. Swear it!"

"Shinji!" Asuka almost shouted. "Don't do this! You can't be serious! This is a godforsaken demon you're dealing with! You don't know how powerful he is!"

"I can take him," Shinji countered with resolve. "And he'll hold up his end of the bargain either way… I know he will. His honor depends on it."

"I didn't think demons had any sense of…"

"_**Your terms are acceptable."**_ The finality of that statement cut Asuka off. _**"I can afford to let her go if you lose, it doesn't matter either way. I swear upon my warrior's honor that she will be allowed to go free with whatever supplies she wants if you fall to me in combat."**_

"Then I accept your challenge Jhorgandahar, Hand of Asteroth."

Asuka's heart started beating harder... Shinji was sure of himself but she didn't know if he really could defeat this monster. As the crowd of demons began escorting them towards the center of town, she knew she would find out one way or the other.

But could she continue without him should he fail?

* * *

**Tokyo-3**

* * *

Rei broke to a halt within the city limits. A sound drew her away from the city though… the sound of … humming?

"Impossible," she whispered. "No one should have returned yet… it is far too soon and the gate has not been opened." She walked in the direction she heard the sound. As she approached, she recognized the song being hummed as "Ode to Joy", and knew instantly who it was.

As she approached the sound she saw him in his human form, however he was translucent and sitting by the shoreline of an artificial lake.

"Tabris," she deadpanned.

"Hello sister," he replied without facing her, his voice carrying a slight echo as if he was speaking within the confines of an amphitheater. "I knew you would come here. You're actually ahead of schedule but somehow I expected as much."

"How are you doing this?" she asked as she passed a hand though his image. As she figured, he wasn't really there.

"Many things are possible to the Angel of Free Will, if only for a time. I needed to talk to you dear sister." He stood up and faced her. "As you correctly surmised, the other Envoys are in dreadful danger. They have not yet become fully angelic and ran low on supplies, prompting them to leave the city."

Rei looked fearfully at Tabris. "Where did they go?"

"Tokyo-2," he said flatly, "into the hands of Jhorgandahar."

"No!" As she turned to run she heard Tabris yell for her to stop. She did turning back to him.

"They have begun to awaken. Shinji has already claimed a bit of his power."

"Enough to face Jhorgandahar?"

"I believe he can face the daemon and survive yes... They will be moving on from there but I know not where."

"I'll rip the information out of them if I have to," Rei said with resolve.

"First thing's first, dear sister. You must undo the damage Cyclos has done to you."

Rei realized he was right. Though she was strong in her current form, with the majority of her power sealed away, she would face difficulties against Jhorgandar's forces should he already be dead when she arrived.

"How?"

"You must go to the chapel at Mount Odake to the West," he explained. "Inside a hidden compartment in the altar you will find a scroll. This scroll will detail what must be done to break the curse he has placed upon you. It may not undo the damage all at once, but it will begin the healing process. The demons that captured you will send Reavers after you soon enough, and in your state, you can not face them with any hope of survival. You must regain your power."

"What else is on the scroll?"

"Information you will need later, including the location of the Celestial Gateway."

"Very well," she replied and saw as Tabris's image began to fade.

"I may not be able to contact you this way again dear sister, but you know what must be done. I look forward to the day when we can talk again without restriction."

With that his image faded. Rei set her sights to the west. If she did have Reavers on her tail, she'd have to hurry.

* * *

**Tokyo-2**

* * *

Demonic monsters chanted as Jhorgandahar and Shinji made their way to the center of town. A circle had been drawn in the icy ground ringed with braziers of blue flame. It was a makeshift arena for the spectacle to come. Asuka stood outside the circle and the demons kept their distance from her. She became nervous as she watched the two warriors enter the arena on opposite sides.

"_**This is a duel to the death Shinji,"**_ Jhorgandahar affirmed. _**"No quarter… no mercy!"**_

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Shinji asked.

"_**Positive. I must know who the greater warrior is."**_

"I won't disappoint you."

The time for words was over; both combatants took battle stances on either side of the arena. Jhorgandahar drew both weapons and took his position as Shinji's muscles tensed. For nearly half a minute neither one moved a muscle, then suddenly both launched forward into the attack meeting each other halfway with a resounding clash of steel blades against taloned gauntlets. The demonic cheers reached a sudden crescendo as the battle began in earnest. Jhorgandahar launched into a flurry of blades in an odd daemonic variation of Florentine. Shinji responded with savage lashes and quick movement to stay ahead of the attacks.

Neither opponent seemed able to gain the upper hand. Jhorgandahar managed to lash Shinji across the side of his face with a blade but he came back just as quickly leaving a set of nasty gashes that cut straight though his helmet and bit the skin on his face. With his bucket becoming a hindrance, he ripped if off revealing a dark skinned humanoid face. His skin tone and his eye color certainly pegged him as a demon being almost midnight blue, as did his pointed ears and sharpened teeth. Red slightly slanted eyes narrowed before he threw the ruined helmet away.

"You're not what I expected," Shinji commented. "You're almost human."

"_**Would it surprise you to know that all three of our races are more closely related then you might think?"**_ he replied.

"Not at all." With that Shinji pressed the attack again trying to reach directly for his head. Jhorgandahar however was a skilled warrior and managed to dodge the attack lashing directly for Shinji's torso. Shinji responded by backflipping away from the attack using his wings to slow his reverse momentum and launch back into a charge as soon as his plated feet touched the ground. The two locked up again, as they had at the beginning of the fight and held this position trying to gain supremacy over each other for nearly ten seconds before Jhorgandahar pushed off, the pressed the attack.

The dance continued as Shinji's gauntlets sparked across the daemon's breastplate and the blades of the daemon sparked across the back side of the gauntlets Shinji bore. In a show of swordsmanship, Jhorgandahar got the upper hand and kicked Shinji across the arena. As he tried to recover, the daemon reversed his grip on his blades, holding them with only two fingers while he used the other three on each hand to launch a massive blast of dark energy that detonated on impact with his target.

Asuka screamed out when she saw that thinking Shinji was defeated.

"_**Perhaps I overestimated your abilities,"**_ the daemon mused. Then he watched as the flames where thrown back away in a wave of electric force. Standing in the middle of what used to be a corrupted fireball was Shinji, now completely shirtless with his wings spread wide and upwards. This time, his wings were not the fluffy white Asuka was used to seeing. They were black, and the individual wing feathers faded into electric blue as they approached the tips. Shinji's gauntlets took on the same metallic color as the boots he had summoned before, only now his arms were armored up to the elbows in finely crafted dark angelic metal.

Shinji closed his eyes a moment and he cracked his neck. What remained of his clothing showed charged edges and small burn marks, some of which were actual holes. Asuka smiled as she realized he had a chance after all.

"Sorry about that," he said. "It took me a second to get warmed up. Shall we continue?"

Jhorgandahar smiled at that. _**"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me,"**_ he replied. Holding his swords at the ready he shifted his weight forward to begin his charge.

At that moment, Shinji's eyes flashed red and the lightning around him took on the same color. His body discorporated into the energy and a lightning bolt shot forward from where he was standing reforming just behind the daemon where he delivered a sharp elbow to the back. With Jhorgandahar already committed to moving forward he was sent sprawling, losing his grip on both blades.

Shinji pounced at him as he flipped onto his back, intending to rip the demon to shreds. A point blank blast of dark energy threw him back. He flipped and landed on his feet in a slight crouch with one leg back, breaking to a halt. The daemon got back to his feet and immediately launched a beam of pure black energy from his hands at Shinji, which was met with an angelic-electrical stroke of Shinji's own starting an energy based pissing contest. Where the two blasts met the energy crackled and lanced outwards nearly hitting bystanders.

"_**How long can you possibly keep this up?!"**_ Jhorgandahar exclaimed as he realized how intense Shinji's electrical bolt was.

"I am a berserker!" he shouted over the energy vortex. "It is rage and righteous fury that fuels me!" A pulse shot though his lightning bolt to the connection point breaking though the black beam of energy and shooting into Jhorgandahar causing him to scream.

Shinji instantly released the beam and launched forward raking the stunned daemon with his claws, tearing flesh and skin down to the bone with each agonizing strike. As Jhorgandahar tried to move backwards out of range of this rabid animal he suddenly faced, Shinji slammed his right claw into the ground sending out a short ranged shockwave of intense energy that threw the daemon into the air. He then unleashed a torrent of holy thunder into Jhorgandahar from both hands frying the daemon. Five seconds later, he relinquished this hold and the daemon began to fall, no longer suspended in the air by the torrent of energy. Shinji launched forward with blinding speed and caught him by the front of his armor with his left hand.

Before the daemon could get his bearings Shinji slammed his right claw directly into his chest and clutched his core. Black blood shot out of Jhorgandahar's mouth when he did so. All around them, the demons fell silent, realizing their champion had been defeated.

"_**You're… more powerful… then I ever expected…."**_ He managed to say. _**"I wondered if you would be able to defeat me… I guess I… have my answer."**_

Shinji noticed that despite the fact that he was going to die, the daemon was actually smiling.

"_**Thank you… you have given me a proper death… I could ask for nothing more."**_

"You fought well," Shinji replied. "And you fought with honor."

Jhorgandahar seemed to smile at that then closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Shinji wasted no more time and crushed his core. As soon as his body dropped to the floor it erupted into black flame and burned away to ash in seconds.

One of the larger daemons entered the arena and approached him. Shinji expected he might get attacked by this one but he didn't show a weapon.

"The duel is over," he said. "We will honor our end of the deal. You have two hours to gather what you want from the city, and then you will leave. If you do not, we will kill you."

Shinji bowed respectfully and left the ring. Asuka followed after him. While the demons watched them go, they didn't so much as lift a finger against them.

"How did you know?" Asuka asked. "How did you know he would be honorable?"

"I sensed a warrior spirit within him," Shinji replied. "Also I seemed to remember reading about the fallen angel Asteroth as being a daemonic general who still held the dictates of fair combat. If Jhorgandahar was really one of his 'hands', as it put it, then he would have to abide by the rules of honor and fair play. The fact that he suggested the duel in the first place seemed to support that."

"I'm just happy this is over," she replied. "But what do we do now. We know for a fact we can't stay here."

Shinji thought about that for a moment. "Suzaka… we'll go to Suzaka. We can hit a few towns on the way for more supplies if needed since it is a bit of a walk. I have a good feeling about Suzaka though."

"I hope you're right."

Less than two hours later, they left the city with enough supplies to make the trek towards Suzaka. Despite the fair treatment in the end, both of the children were glad to leave that demon infested city.

* * *

_Honestly I was never expecting that… to think that a daemon of all creatures would understand the concept of honor. It made me rethink a few things. I'd come to realize that I couldn't afford to take things at face value anymore. This world was far too different to afford assumption. One thing we did learn however is that the major cities were becoming demon nests. Tokyo-2 was not the exception it seemed… it was the rule._

_By now, you've probably noticed in my writings that I've used the words demon and daemon seemingly interchangeably. I actually haven't. Demon refers to any demonic creature of lesser blood or station. The word Daemon is always reserved for the demons that have higher station, power or importance. The former is pronounced with a "dee" sound while the later and more formal with "day". But enough grammar… if you're reading this you probably don't give a fuck about semantics anyway._

_Anyhow, it took us nearly a week to reach Suzaka, but it was shortly after our arrival there that Rei had finally caught up with us. I couldn't believe how much she'd changed! She knew a lot but in the end, even she didn't have all the answers._

_What happened at Suzaka however… well… I'll explain that in my next entry… it wasn't a good day for Asuka and me… not at all…_

_Shinji Ikari_

_November 29th, 2017_

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try to fake it but all wounds are there to see…_


	5. Dark Temptation

**A/N:** Chapter contains compromising scenes including rape. Reader discretion advised.

* * *

**V: Dark Temptations**

* * *

Mount Odake… at nearly 1.5 km, this mountain located near Okutama Japan is the highest peak in the country. Though Mount Fuji is by far better known, it is not nearly the largest, not to mention Fuji is an extinct volcano. This mountain was hiked by many before Second Impact and continued to be a popular destination for hikers even after it. Now however, it is an ice bound rock that no one in their right mind (if there even were people here anymore) would attempt to summit… however this was precisely what Rei Ayanami was planning to do.

Though lightly dressed, she felt none of the cold. Though barefoot, she found purchase on the slick ice by shear virtue of what she had become. Where no one else would dare travel, she felt at home in the frozen waste that used to be Okutama.

As she continued her climb, she remembered Tabris's warning about being hunted by Reavers. She was hoping she would not have to face any today, as she was in no mood to press her luck. The feeder demons were child's play for one such as her to take down, but a Reaver would be another story entirely.

As she continued her trek, she felt the winds kicking up around her. Her lightweight outfit flowed about, taken by the wind yet revealing nothing of her form that wasn't already plain to see, as if the flimsy cloth was protecting her. But Rei needed not its protection; she simply liked the feel of the cloth on her skin. Its only real purpose was to keep her, decent, for all intents and purposes since she wore nothing else beneath it.

As she reached the top of the mountain she saw the chapel. It wasn't much of a chapel in that it was more like a slightly over-glorified Buddhist Shrine. She entered with haste, making note that amongst the statues and meditative focuses of the temple, there were hints at an originally Christian origin… Latin script was barely visible on the walls as were crosses and angelic symbols. Rei knew that if it were not for her angelic eyes, she would not have noticed them.

She made her way to the altar, reaching it in time to hear the door thrown from its slide rails. She spun around summoning her spear and gasped slightly at the sight.

Two Reavers entered the shrine. These demons stood well over seven feet tall each with armored bodies, nine foot wing spans and glowing red eyes. Their faces were somewhat gargoyle-like but with slightly extended lower jaws brimming with teeth. The joint at the center of their wings was armed with two sickle-shaped blades each, and a spike adorned the tip of the veins of their bat-like wings. They stood straight like men, but their feet had a back facing talon where the heel should be and only three toes, similarly armed. Their long, whip like tails ended with another sickle-shaped blade and writhed behind them.

Rei knew she was too late… these monsters were far stronger than her and they weren't going to back down, no matter how much she threatened them. She would have to fight them, despite how outclassed she was right now. Something like this wasn't going to deter her though; she had far more determination than that.

"So, here we find you," one of them said. "Why would you come here of all places I wonder… must be something of value here."

"Figured that out on your own did you?" Rei deadpanned. "I have little time for this."

"Make time. We both know you can't defeat us."

"No we don't," she replied. "I concede that you are stronger than I, and that I am at a serious disadvantage facing two of you at one time, however… strength is no guarantee of victory."

"Strength is all that matters my dear," the other said. "You will learn that soon. Cyclos didn't get a chance to properly introduce himself last time."

"I have no intention of meeting him again," she replied. "That coward can rot in whatever hole he is hiding in. As for you two…" Rei flipped her lance around taking it two hands. "… you have delayed me long enough."

Without another word the reaver on the left blinked out, his form becoming fuzzy and distorted for a moment, Rei swung in reverse, sensing the demon would appear somewhere in her rear arc and managed to block a claw swipe that was aimed for her back, the other jumped in immediately.

With a slight twist of her wrist, she commanded the forked end of the lance to twist together as if about to be thrown, but the metal reconfigured itself, flattening out into a double-sword, ducking under the swing she brought the weapon around in a spiral, fending off both attackers with her transformed lance.

Tails lashed, claws swiped and even kicks were thrown, but they couldn't land a strike against her as she had the speed advantage. One of them grabbed a statue with its foot and threw it at Rei at high speed… but a flick of her wrist brought a barrier of dense ice instantly between her and the projectile which smashed against it but only succeeded in chippings its way though about an inch of the hard ice.

Both demons split up and tried to strike simultaneously from two directions only to have their attempt blocked. Rei threw her weight at just the right angle against one sending him back and off his feet and spun in time to get lashed across her face with the tail blade of the other, and then kicked away. Her weapon flew from her hand as she hit the ground. She rolled onto her back in time to see the vein tip blades of the other demon come down as he teleported in. She rolled at the last second as the blades punched though the wooden floor with no resistance. Rei then quickly side flipped away from the other one as his sickle like dual wingtip blades came down on her location, barely missing her.

Upon landing, she used her AT Field to lift her double blade from the ground and send it flying at one of them. He didn't have time to dodge and his AT Field provided no resistance against her weapon. It penetrated though his core and he was stuck to the wall, his body quickly melted away into shadow and blood.

Rei continued dodging the attacks of the other one as his fury at her minor victory took over. She was effectively back handed with a wing which lacerated her arm, chest and legs as she went flying. Rei rolled several times before she came to a stop face up. The demon leapt upon her holding her down as she struggled to get back up again, his tail curving up between them.

"Well isn't this cozy," he sneered. "If I had more time, I might take the opportunity to defile you, but as it stands I do not. Now Cyclos wants to see you and I suggest you make no further attempts to delay us." To accentuate his vile desires, the back edge of his tail blade traced up her leg to her hip, sliding over towards her pelvic region.

Rei felt nothing but disgust for this creature and its lustful intentions. To hold her here, he had to erode her AT Field, which was fine by her. It meant that he wasn't protected either. Her eyes flashed and the demon realized too late its mistake. A massive icicle shot out of the roof into his back with enough force to pierce his core. The tip stopped less than a centimeter from the skin over her heart. The icicle then pulled the demon upwards as she rolled out before its body could start to melt.

Kneeling in place she crossed her arms over her chest, at the thought of what the vile monster desired of her and used her will to calm herself. Memories of her past life assailed her and she remembered with crystal clarity the torture she suffered under Gendo Ikari. While popular belief held that Gendo was not that evil, Rei could attest to his lustful appetites and his desire for her to replace his dead wife in ways more than just to take her place at the dinner table.

The thoughts would make her vomit had she had anything in her stomach. The pain she felt the first time was nothing compared to living with the knowledge that she was his to use as he pleased and no one would believe her anyway. Perhaps this is why Ritusko hated her so much… as her doctor, she would know what Gendo was doing to her. It wasn't the fact that he was using her body she realized; now that she was free the truth of what really affected her about their relationship hit home. He dominated her… every single part of her was his… he told her what to do, how to live, and in the end, when to die… though she denied him that, as well as the reason she was created in the first place. Gendo never became part of instrumentality… oh no, Rei damned him to hell for what he had done. She hoped his soul was sent all the way down to the 10th level of hell for in essence betraying mankind just as Judus Iscariot had done so long ago.

All these thoughts were horrible to have of course, but they distracted her from the pain she felt. Reaver's generally have poisoned blades, and though their poison works on Angels, it is not lethal to one of her caliber. When she finally shook herself out of her thoughts, all that remained of her wounds were cuts in her clothing which she mended with a thought.

More will come, she realized and without further delay she approached the back side of the altar and found the hidden compartment Tabris spoke up. Retrieving the scroll she looked over the complex ritual but was relieved to find out that the materials she needed to complete it were relatively commonplace.

"I should be able to take care of this before leaving town," she whispered to herself. "Now where is…" she scanned the scroll for the location of the Celestial Gate and frowned at its location.

"Of course," she whispered…

* * *

**Two Hours Later**

* * *

Rei sat in the center of a cleared out a small area of what was once a specialty goods store. A circle was drawn, scrawled with angelic symbols. Incense burned and white candles surrounded the circle. In the center of the circle and devoid of all clothing, Rei knelt holding a crystal in one hand and the scroll in the other.

Though Rei knew that most of the Christian Religion was not true, the dogma and rituals were perfect for centering oneself. In this ritual, she had to will the dark essence that held her back out of her body. This ritual would help her do that. She simply imagined the Father as being the All-Father of the Angels, Adam. While Adam was once an enemy, this was no longer a guiding factor. As far as the son, she chose who she felt was the true messiah of mankind… Shinji. The so called Holy Spirit she felt actually pertained to the spiritual collective the Angels one enjoyed and the true essence of the souls of all of angels. This type of rational thinking allowed her to use the ritual as it was and ignore the meaning while keeping the intent.

"Father, help me to purge the darkness from my soul and rescue my essence from certain destruction. Guide me back on the path of the righteous and deliver me from the torments of hell. I beseech thee, to give me the strength to continue so that your work may be done. E Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti…."

At the end of that, angelic energy rushed over her, flowing not from the circle or the incense, but from herself. Deep inside her core the pure white energy pushed out the darkness that acted as a limiter for her powers and pushed it into the crystal in her hand turning it pure black. Moments later, the crystal destroyed itself taking the curse with it.

Rei felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her soul. She stood up, summoning back her light clothing and tossed the remains of the crystal away.

"Now to…" she suddenly grabbed her head, dropping the scroll at that moment. A vision crossed her mind, one of Shinji being assailed by a demoness. It looked as if she were turning him into a dried up husk.

Her eyes opened. "Selena," she whispered with contempt. "I'll kill you before you harm Shinji…."

From the visual cues she got from the vision, she knew where this was taking place…

… Rei was bound for Suzaka.

* * *

**Later**

* * *

Shinji and Asuka entered the city at last. The weather had become more difficult to deal with over the past three days, and their provisions had finally run out. The children were relieved to have finally reached their destination.

"These blizzards are getting worse," Asuka noted. "How much more screwed up can the weather get?"

"You should know better than to ask," Shinji replied as they reached the entrance to a shopping mall. The doors were covered in ice and snow making entry almost impossible. "Can you get the door?"

Asuka concentrated and fired a quick blast of heat over the doors instantly melting the ice and snow away to allow entry. Shinji walked in first followed closely by Asuka. Inside they found the temperature bearable and stripped off the outer layer of winter clothing.

"Does it seem warm in here to you?" she asked.

"Yeah… it shouldn't be… I sense something…."

"So do I."

Moments later, several female demons appeared. Their bodies were mostly human, appearing very beautiful by most definitions of the word but they had demonic wings. Each was scantly clad in different outfits but all had a bondage and S&M theme. Several had certain female assets completely exposed to whoever would gaze upon them, and all had raven black hair of varying lengths.

Shinji was struck immediately with an attraction to these females but quickly threw it aside. He knew almost instantly what they were.

"Succubae." He whispered.

"Close," a seductive voice echoed nearby. Both children turned towards the sound and saw a beautiful female without wings fade into existence. She wore a long black dress that clung to every curve with a deep plunging neckline and a high slit up one side all the way to the top of her left hip. Her nails were painted black and her make up was perfect, accentuating her beauty. At first glance one could see nothing dark or evil about her, but the feeling both children got off of her was one of darkness and empty promises.

"You must be the matron of this brothel," Shinji said sarcastically.

She simply smiled. It was a smile that was melting his resolve quickly and preventing him from calling out his angelic arms.

"If you wish to call it that yes. I am Selena, one of the servants of Malcanthet, Prime Daemoness of Lust, and I bid you welcome to our humble home."

"You know, after seeing that Tokyo-2 and the last few small cities we passed though on the way here were demon nests, I should have expected to find something here. At least the company is infinitely more beautiful… I should probably mention though that I'm already taken."

"Yeah!" Asuka chimed in. "So take your uber-bitch charms elsewhere. Shinji's mine!"

"So, I have competition do I?" she said with satisfaction in her voice. "Well, if there is anything I dislike more, it's a rival. Sorry child, but your man is going to be mine one way or another."

Before anymore words could be exchanged, the demonic women lunged in. Asuka called her blades but they were quickly knocked of her hands. The wings of the women had changed into barbed tendrils of shadow, twelve on each and they quickly disarmed her and entangled her limbs and body. Shinji called for his angelic armor but it wouldn't respond to him.

"What the…" he managed to get out before he found himself grabbed by Selena. As Asuka was being dragged away by Selena's minions he heard her scream and tried to escape the clutches of this evil woman, but he resolve was melting under her very touch.

"Don't worry my dear boy," she whispered seductively in his ear, "she will be well taken care of… assuming she doesn't fight back." They began to float up and Shinji felt powerless to stop what was happening.

Asuka was dragged into what used to be a clothing store. She tried to use her fire but the demons were suppressing her abilities somehow. She struggled only to be held down by two more that appeared. They were naked but had several body piercings and demonic tattoos. As the ones who caught her held her down, the remaining two transformed their wings into barbed tendrils and used them to strip her clothing in an instant. She yelled out for Shinji to help her but the sound caught in her throat, as if her will was being sapped. The tendrils then pierced her flesh though her arms, legs and stomach. Though they caused great pain, she couldn't scream. A final tendril pierced her neck at the base of her skull causing a short circuit of her nerve endings. Suddenly the pain receptors were directly connected to her pleasure centers, and the torture they inflicted turned into ecstasy.

To Asuka, this was the worst form of rape imaginable. They were hurting her, torturing her, and making her like it. She squeezed her eyes shut to try to stop the tears from falling as unholy joy coursed though her veins.

On the third floor Shinji's shirt was stripped off and Selena used her own tendrils to hold his arms and legs to keep him from struggling.

"What are you doing?" Shinji demanded, trying his best to push the dark influence of this fatal beauty from his mind.

"My my," she whispered to him as she leaned in to nearly kissing distance, "what strength you possess! I've yet to meet anyone who could resist my presence for so long. You must be quite powerful indeed to be able to retain your will like this. Most men I've come across in my long life were kissing my feet at the very first glimpse of my beauty."

"I told you, I'm taken. I have no desire to do anything with you at all."

"Try as you like," she whispered, "but eventually that resolve of yours will break and you will be mine. As strong as you are, I might be willing to have you father a child for me."

"Not… interested."

"Not yet," she hissed. Her left hand touched his chest and he felt it instantly go cold as if she were sapping the strength out of him.

He grunted in half contained pleasure. Despite how destructive this probably was to him, it felt damn good. Selena on the other hand was apparently having an orgasm for the all the sounds she made. With a gasp she took her hand away and almost stumbled, but her tendrils held tight.

"Oh… my…" she whispered as she tried to catch her breath. "You're amazing! That was just a simple touch! I can't wait to possess you completely… body and soul."

"It… will… never… happen…" he grunted out as he got control over his body again. He still couldn't draw forth his weapons or armor, but he was still resisting her with every ounce of his being. Now that contact was broken, he realized she sapped maybe a small fraction of his energy.

"The more you struggle," she started with a smile, "the more I'll enjoy breaking you in the end. Shinji my boy… we're in for one wild night."

* * *

**Outside Suzaka**

* * *

Rei was in a full run… her visions were prodding her hard as she was seeing that both of the Envoys were in trouble.

"I have to stop her," she whispered as suddenly she rolled away before a pair of female demons tried to grab her.

She rolled to her feet, instantly drawing forth the Lancea Longini. They tried to pursue rushing at her straight on. Rei met them half way using a blast of cold against one to throw it back and running the other one though with a quick spinning strike. As she disintegrated, Rei ripped out the lance and threw it at the other one, catching her though the chest the moment she recovered. Without slowing her momentum she used her AT Field and recalled her weapon to her hand without breaking her stride. She was already racing up the last hill to the city as the second demon was disappearing.

* * *

**Suzaka Mall**

* * *

Asuka was writhing in pain and pleasure as the pain maidens continued to work on her. Their tendrils were now in less decent places, draining away her life energy though hedonistic pleasure. Asuka still bled as she tried to get control of her mind again.

_I can't let them do this to me… I have to break away… Shinji needs me…_

Her eyes flashed open as her brain forcibly shut down her pleasure centers. The pain maidens gasped at that moment realizing they had lost control of the situation. With a short scream of rage, she unleashed a blast of fire that ripped though the clothing storefront and sent several demon corpses out of it, burnt to a crisp.

As she stood up, angelic armor began to appear on her body. Her hands up to her elbows and her legs up to her knees were armed with red angelic steel armor, her boots containing a three inch heel. Her body was now covered in an outfit similar to Rei's only it was red instead of white. As the pain maidens who survived got back to their feet, Asuka held her hands out to her sides, summoning her warblades forth again. Fire licked their edges as her eyes burned dangerously with wrath.

"I'm… fucking… done with this shit!" she growled out. Dozens of tendrils shot at her from the demons, but in the blink of an eye she cut though all of them, causing their owners to cry out in pain that they didn't like. Before they could recover, Asuka launched at them with all her rage and started cutting them down. Several fell in half, their blood boiling and igniting as it left their bodies. In seconds, she vented her rage at being raped by them and regained her balance again.

"Fucking whores…" She threw out her senses trying to find Shinji but she couldn't lock onto him. Desperately, she began her search, willing the burning clothing store to stop before it burnt down the entire mall. They'd need this place after she was done cleansing the infestation.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

* * *

Shinji was starting to breath hard after Selena broke her forced kiss. The top of her dress had been removed for more skin-to-skin contact. This act drained much of his energy in one go leaving him weakened. Selena however was in total ecstasy.

"If you only knew what it was I was feeling right now…" she said in a seemingly drunken state.

Shinji would have liked to comment on the disgust he felt at being forced to kiss her, but he was far too weak for that. He knew what was coming next though… she was going to strip him down rape him, and probably kill him in the process. He tried to pool together as much energy as he could, but there was simply nothing left to give. As soon as she recovers from this latest draining, she'll either end him or let him recover just enough so she can drain him again.

Suddenly she sobered up and turned her head towards the front side of the mall, downward towards the first floor.

Shinji smiled. He had a little strength to speak and decided to prod Selena as much as he could in his condition. "Asuka's loose… and she's pissed at you right now."

Selena glared at him. "Let her come… as much energy as I've leached off of you, she'd be no match for me now. Then I'll be rid of all possible distractions."

She pulled the top part of her dress back up as she walked over to a banister that protected an opened ledge where the second and first floors could be viewed.

"Strange… two of my outside sentries are gone too… is there another one of you?"

Shinji just grinned at her like the cat that caught the mouse. Selena was confused and that suited him just fine. Though he had no idea who the third party was, it was not on her side which was just fine by him. Enemy of my enemy and all….

She saw him smiling at her and grew irritated. She turned back and slammed her hand next to his head. Shinji didn't even flinch.

"TELL ME!" she yelled.

"No," Shinji whispered. "I'll let you stew for a bit, succu-bitch."

"How juvenile," she cut.

"Well I am only 15… maybe 16… kind of hard to keep track of the date when nothing works anymore."

* * *

**Elsewhere in the Mall**

* * *

Asuka reached the second floor on the far end of the mall. She knew she had to be getting close now.

"Bitch is on the third floor… I know it."

As she circled up the deactivated escalator towards the third set, two more pain maidens were sliding down the hand rails to meet her, these two held nasty barbed blades dripping with black fluid. Asuka ran up and met them half way. Steel clashed as she fought them, jumping from hand rail to hand rail as they fought. Her burning blades bit flesh causing pain but the pain maidens were fighting harder in response.

Asuka whirled around in a mid jump, it was move worthy of an Olympic gymnast and the blades caught both demons across their abdomen and chest, killing them. When she landed she ran up the rest of the way and met a small army of lesser succubae.

"Get out of my way!" she screamed as her wings tore out of her back and she flipped her blades into reverse grips. Throwing her hands forward with two fingers on each hand holding the blades and three pointing out, she conjured a wave of purifying flame which rushed over the succubae before they could respond. The few who survived the inferno were quickly dispatched as she ran forward, now positive of Shinji's position.

When she got there she saw Shinji, now manacled to the wall and threadbare from the waist up. The bitch was standing near him, several long tendrils writhing behind her.

"So you managed to escape the Pain Maidens," she said. Even when threatening, her voice held a certain seductive quality.

"Let my boyfriend go," Asuka demanded.

"You're so impatient. You should be proud of him… he's kept his sanity for this long, resisted my dark temptations, and is still alive after all the energy I drained off of him. He's quite the little trooper. I can't wait to see how he fairs when I fuck his brains out.

"You won't get the chance," Asuka said with resolve. "You'll die before you lay another finger on my Shinji." To accentuate her point, she pointed one of her flaming blades at the daemoness.

"My my, what passion! Perhaps I'll keep you around for some girl on girl entertainment, after I'm done kicking your ass." The writhing tendrils pulled themselves up into striking positions as Selena summoned forth two demonically barbed whips. "It's been a long time since I had a chance to truly let loose."

Asuka took a battle stance as Selena's eyes began to glow blue. She wondered what that was about until she noticed that lightning energy was building around her hands and traveling up the whips. Selena lashed them to her sides and the sounds of the tips cracking were as thunder. The shockwave actually damaged the floor around their cracking points.

"Oh fuck me," Asuka whispered. She realized that when Selena started draining Shinji, she inherited some of his power. Asuka was fast, but when Shinji really got going, nothing could catch him… he was literally as fast as a bolt of lightning when he needed to be. She hoped Selena hadn't figured out what she got her hands on just yet.

Selena launched herself from the balls of her feet directly into the combat. Asuka slashed at her but Selena's tendrils were steel hard and able to block her swipes. With twelve of the nasty tendrils and a pair of barbed whips, it was like fighting seven super powered daemons at once. Asuka kicked up her speed as much as possible and barely managed to stay ahead of the onslaught.

With a loud clang both of her blades were blocked by the tendrils. The push back threw her backwards to the range of Selena's whips. She lashed out with lightning speed tearing into the flesh of Asuka's shoulders. The thunder cracks stressed the bones of her clavicles, nearly breaking them. She recovered from this stun and had to quickly roll away as the tendrils started attacking her in sequence, tearing into the ground where they struck. The last two managed to puncture though her thighs and threw her into a wall. Selena rushed towards the hole she made but was nearly incinerated by a blast of flame that issued from the wall.

Asuka got out of the hole, her legs bleed badly and she was unable to put her weight on them without wincing. In her mind, she promised this daemoness would pay for that.

Selena charged back in. Asuka sucked up the pain and rushed in at the same moment, managing to bypass the tendrils and strike home with a blade shot to Selena's side. Though the daemoness screeched in pain she lashed back twice as hard, rending across Asuka's abdomen with the barbed whips. The angel gasped in pain but kept her composure together to press the attack.

Whips and tendrils tore into her but she ignored the pain and struck home as often as she could. It didn't matter to her that she was being torn to shreds by electrical whips, or that the tendrils were piercing her flesh. All that mattered was doing enough damage to Selena to take her down before Asuka herself passed out from blood loss. To this end, she made Selena pay for every lash, every puncture and every pound of flesh lost.

Selena kicked her away… her daemon blood poured from multiple wounds but she ignored the injuries.

"You don't give up do you?!" Selena yelled. "Look at yourself! You must have lost at least half of the blood in your body and you refuse to stop fighting. I can keep this up all day, but you certainly can't. How long until my tendrils pierce something important… like your core."

"You might kill me," she conceded, "but I'll kill you too. Though to be honest, if you didn't like all this debauchery so much, I'd make sure I had a chance to torture you like your little whores tortured me!"

"You can't tell me you didn't enjoy their hospitality," she countered. "You can't say you weren't moaning like a whore when they penetrated you in every conceivable place."

Hearing Selena talk about her rape so casually was the last straw. If it wasn't obvious by now, the way she spoke of such a traumatic experience left no doubt as to the quality of Selena's morals. She probably should have expected nothing less of a minion of the Prime Daemoness of Lust. With a cry of rage, she launched into the attack again.

Selena wasn't prepared for this level of ferocity but managed to barely avoid a few lethal strikes. Tendrils lashed and grappled but Asuka fought with such strength that Selena wasn't able to completely save herself. Several of her tendrils were cut though causing her to cry in pain as Asuka pushed on. Her blades a flurry of fiery trails as more and more damage was caused. As both blades punched though her stomach, Selena cried out and ran Asuka though with the seven tendrils she had left until Asuka finally released her hold on the blades due to physical weakness.

In a rage, Selena threw Asuka away, ripping out the tendrils at the same time. Blue blood sprayed across the floor in all directions as her body fell. Though she was breathing she was unable to get back up again.

_I… can't move…I can't feel my limbs anymore… my fingers won't even twitch…this sucks…I couldn't even get revenge. Now Shinji is completely at the bitch's mercy…verdammnit! If only I could have hit her core just once…_

Selena coughed up daemonic blood and concentrated on healing her injuries. She ripped out Asuka's blades and dropped them to the floor. A loud clang sounded the finality of Asuka's last attempt to kill Selena.

"That…was… naughty…" she said between breaths. "Just wait until I… fully recover… I'll make you wish you were dead." Her last word was punctuated with her breath being visible as a white mist. "What the," she whispered noticing she could see her breath as if she were outside in the cold air. Suddenly an acute terror overtook her and she spun around to face a new attacker, but she was too weak to fight anymore. Asuka had torn the strength out of her with her last all out attack.

Her eyes widened as she felt the metal pierce her core, punching straight though her AT Field, chest and sternum like they were not even there. A line of blood traced its way from her mouth as her vision began to blur. She managed to get it clear for a split second and saw a girl standing there… a girl with perfectly pale and smooth skin, red eyes and azure hair… it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her long existence… and it was the last thing she'd ever see.

As the lance was pulled out of her chest, Selena's body fell back. Lines of electrical energy poured out of her into Shinji, reawakening him. With a grunt he broke free of his restraints and ran to Asuka's side, cradling her.

Rei stepped forward. "Shinji," she whispered. "She'll recover. But we're going to have company. Selena managed to get out a telepathic distress call for back up before she expired. This place will be crawling with succubae and probably other demons as well."

"Good," Shinji said dangerously. "Let them come. I'm tried of it Rei… I'm tired of running from these bastards. I'll make my stand here and make this place a home, if only for a short time. No more running… I promised myself that a while ago, just before the Ice Age came… and I'm not going back on it now."

"Do you believe we will be successful?" Rei asked him.

Shinji nodded his agreement, sensing the demons were coming.

"Rei… please protect Asuka. I plan to repay these monsters for their… hospitality."

"I swear to you, no harm will come to her."

Demonic portals came into being all over the third level, ejecting gargoyles, succubae, feeders and other low class demons as Shinji stood up, leaving Asuka in Rei's hands.

"Thank you Rei," he said. "Perhaps when this is over, you can tell me just why you're back too."

"You may not like the answers," Rei cautioned.

"I've been getting that a lot lately." Without another word, he brought his talons and boots into being. The armor on his arms now reached his shoulders. A pair of leather straps crossed his chest and seemed to hold the shoulder plates in place, though these were temporary as far as Shinji could tell. He was still evolving.

As lightning crackled around him, his eyes glowed electric blue. He cracked his neck with a slight twitch.

"Let's dance assholes," he whispered as the first wave began to advance. He launched himself headlong into melee…

There would be much demon blood shed this night…

* * *

_Suzaka Mall became our home for a time. It had more than enough provisions to last us for a while, and it was an easily defensible location. It helped that Rei knew some rituals and managed to place a barrier spell around the mall to keep demons out of it. She said it wouldn't hold forever but it bought us much needed recovery time._

_Asuka was tore up both physically and emotionally. Though her physical scars healed, her emotional ones would take a little longer. She joked and said after Ariel, she should be used to this… no one laughed._

_Envoys… that was what Rei called us. Our conversation was long and enlightening…it made me realize a few very important things. Demons were like us, but in the same token they were nothing like us. Though I was still a little uncomfortable at the fact that we were becoming angels, I started to accept the fact that I was now involved in something greater than myself… greater than anything previous. The Angel Wars had nothing on what was coming, and apparently Rei, Asuka and I were all a major component of it._

_People would return one day, but this was a world of demons and monsters now. It was up to us to clear the world of dark forces to make way for the new rebirth of man. Until then we were still adrift upon a seemingly endless sea of uncertainty._

_The next time I write, I will discuss precisely what Rei told us and speak to you of our time here in Suzaka before we had to move on. Rei mentioned it was important to reach the Celestial Gate to call for Angelic reinforcements. This was a war we couldn't win without support… and only the Envoys can open the gate. I really wasn't happy when Rei told me where it was…_

_Shinji Ikari_

_December 2nd, 2017_

* * *

**End of Chapter 5**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try to fake it but all wounds are there to see…_


	6. Respite

As the lance was pulled out of her chest, Selena's body fell back. Lines of electrical energy poured out of her into Shinji, reawakening him. With a grunt he broke free of his restraints and ran to Asuka's side, cradling her.

Rei stepped forward. "Shinji," she whispered. "She'll recover. But we're going to have company. Selena managed to get out a telepathic distress call for back up before she expired. This place will be crawling with succubae and probably other demons as well."

"Good," Shinji said dangerously. "Let them come. I'm tried of it Rei… I'm tired of running from these bastards. I'll make my stand here and make this place a home, if only for a short time. No more running… I promised myself that a while ago, just before the Ice Age came… and I'm not going back on it now."

"Do you believe we will be successful?" Rei asked him.

Shinji nodded his agreement, sensing the demons were coming. "Rei… please protect Asuka. I plan to repay these monsters for their… hospitality."

"I swear to you, no harm will come to her."

Demonic portals came into being all over the third level, ejecting gargoyles, succubae, feeders and other low class demons as Shinji stood up, leaving Asuka in Rei's hands.

"Thank you Rei," he said. "Perhaps when this is over, you can tell me just why you're back too."

"You may not like the answers," Rei cautioned.

"I've been getting that a lot lately." Without another word, he brought his talons and boots into being. The armor on his arms now reached his shoulders. A pair of leather straps crossed his chest and seemed to hold the shoulder plates in place, though these were temporary as far as Shinji could tell. He was still evolving.

As lightning crackled around him, his eyes glowed electric blue. He cracked his neck with a slight twitch.

"Let's dance assholes," he whispered as the first wave began to advance. He launched himself headlong into melee…

* * *

**VI: Respite**

* * *

_They came in waves… I'd only seen its like once before, Tokyo-2. The host that Jhorgandahar had under his control was of similar size to the legion of reinforcements the daemon overlords sent in to support Selena. It wouldn't be enough… but that was a lesson they would learn the hard way. I'd had enough of it… I wouldn't run away, not then, not ever again…_

_The first wave was made up of your standard grunts; wingless demons with raking claws and long tails for balance. They threw themselves at me in swarms, trying to bypass me to strike my beloved. A thrust of my hands sent a shockwave like a massive thunderclap into their lines, some where atomized, others were simply stunned and thrown backwards. It was the one warning they received. They knew not to try to bypass me again._

_Feeders with their nasty teeth were the next in line. While these monsters are normally not something you want to close with, I didn't know that at the time. As it happened, I was so pissed off it didn't matter anymore. They attacked me, trying to overpower me with sheer weight of numbers. I raked and slashed at them with my claws, rending several at a time with great sweeps. Some landed on me and tried to feed, only to get ripped off and torn in half. I saw red… everything seemed to slow down and quiet down and I knew with crystal clarity what needed to be done. My instincts took over… that slavering beast I keep chained in the back of my mind was loosed and I let my rage wash over me like a gentle tide. But like a rip tide, the current beneath was seething with destructive potential. It rained blood; many bodies didn't even reach the floor before I was already tearing into my next victims._

_I was bloodied by their teeth and claws and it didn't matter. Each drop of blood that flowed from me was a relief… like cool water cascading over overworked muscles. The beast within simply smiled at its wounds. As the first swarms were defeated, and the larger goat-men and pain maidens arrived, I was already a mess. I growled at them, blue blood dripping to the floor. I glanced on my chest, seeing my own blood dripping from a fresh wound. I used a claw tip to collect some of the blood that flowed. The pain maidens watched with a mixture of lust and fear in their eyes as I licked the blood off the blade. The angelic red of my eyes stared into the demonic red of their own… and they knew fear._

_While the goat-men attacked, the pain maidens faltered… with the will of my enemies crushed the goat-men stood no chance against me, I tore them asunder, broke their weapons and their bones, and drank their blood. I held one over my head in a manner similar to when Asuka was battling the EVA Series. With a twist, I showered myself in its blood. Even a demon it seems can know fear. This display caused them to give pause, and I was allowed a chance to throw the remains of the body at them before lunging in for the kill. The ones in the back, unable to see my display tried to press forward, while the ones before attempted to escape. They collided in the middle and no one was able to move. I tore their ranks to shreds in that time of chaos._

_In the end it took the better part of three hours to clear the mall of reinforcements. When no further portals opened, I knew that the mall was ours…_

_Shinji Ikari_

_December 4th, 2017_

* * *

Shinji woke up after sleeping for nearly nine hours after his ordeal. Letting the beast out, he found, took a surprising toll on his body. When he did wake up, Rei was kneeling next to him with a hand on his chest. A warm sensation was washing over him as the last vestiges of soreness left his tired muscles.

"How long," was all he asked.

"About nine hours," she replied. "Well, give or take."

"Asuka?"

"She is well… physically."

Shinji knew what she meant by that. Chances are she was still feeling a bit vulnerable after her ordeal. He had little idea what had happened to her after Selena swept him away, but considering the nature of the demons that infested this place, it couldn't have been good.

He sat up with a little help from Rei. "I'm glad you're here sis."

Rei blushed slightly at the moniker. It was a strange feeling for her to be considered a sibling, but Shinji's conclusion of their relationship was pretty close, all things considered.

"I'm glad I found you both in time," she asserted. "If Selena had any chance to recover, the battle may have gone differently."

Shinji stood up and Rei stood up with him. He looked around for a moment, realizing he was on still on the mall's third floor.

"Asuka is sleeping on a bed in a furniture store over there," she said, answering his unasked question.

"Is the mall secure?"

"I took the liberty of setting warding spells over the entire mall. They'll hold for a while, but not forever."

"Good enough for now. Theoretically, we can stay here for a long time if we have to."

Rei frowned slightly at that. Despite this being a new incarnation, Shinji found that her facial expressions were virtually identical to both previous versions of Rei he was familiar with. The expressions were subtle but you knew exactly what you were looking at if you had enough experience dealing with Rei.

"Unfortunately that will not be possible," she said.

"Why not?"

"We can stay for a time, but we have a mission to complete, one that will decide the fate of the world."

"Fate of the world Rei?" he questioned. "What are you talking about? Does this have anything to do with us becoming like the Angels?"

"I will answer all of your questions to the best of my ability, but not until both of you are ready for the answers. You should go to Asuka, she has not been sleeping soundly since she passed out."

Shinji nodded and headed straight for the furniture store. Rei was not being evasive, he realized. She was waiting until both he and Asuka could listen to her story so she wouldn't have to explain it twice. But this left him in the realm of "wait and see", one he was very familiar with and wished he wasn't.

All throughout the Angel Wars, there were a lot of things he didn't know; SEELE, his father's ulterior motive, the truth behind the Instrumentality committee, the real reason Rei was cloned a multitude of times, why an angel was nailed to a cross within Terminal Dogma… the list went on. He wanted answers, but in this case, he knew if he had patience they would come to him. This wasn't going to be exactly like last time.

As he entered the store, he took note of how expensive the furniture was here and thought that back when the world was still ok, he'd probably never have been able to afford such luxuries. Everything was fair game now to whoever could take it and defend their claim.

He found Asuka lying nearly face down on one of the larger beds, curled in a ball and covered with several sheets and blankets. Shinji climbed onto the bed next to her and knelt over her. He touched her lightly and she cringed against his touch.

"Asuka," he whispered. "It's me."

She looked up at him, her eyes looking pathetic. Shinji had seen the fire in her eyes when she faced Selena to try to rescue him, but that fire had been extinguished now as the realities of what happened to her caught up with her.

Shinji tried to get closer and was suddenly pounced upon by Asuka. She shook against him as if trying to bury herself into his chest. He took note that she was threadbare again. After she had powered down, she lost her armor and apparently her outfit as well. Shinji carefully took the blankets she was laying in and wrapped them around both of them, hiding her from the world as she began to cry openly. He tried to shush her cries and kiss her tears away, but it took several minutes before she finally began to calm.

He stayed there holding her in silence as she let the tears flow. In a matter of moments she was silent but still awake. Shinji was certain she was seemingly broken because she was raped by the pain maidens. But just as he thought that his mind and hers opened to each other and he saw the real reason she was so upset and broken…

… she had failed again; she failed to defeat Bardiel when he attacked, failed against Ariel when she raped her mind, failed against Zeruel when he broke though the Geofront… and in the end, she couldn't even get her EVA to move against Armisael. Just before Third Impact, she fought the Mass Production EVA Series and thought she had won, but in the end, they defeated her as well.

It was a never ending string of failures… in the end, Rei saved her again… saved them both this time. She was losing any confidence she had in herself. She was unable to stop the Legion Demon back in Tokyo-3, and barely managed to survive her encounter with a pack of Celestial Dire Wolves. How could she have thought that she'd have a chance against a Lust Daemon, especially one that was a chosen of Malcanthet herself?

"Asuka," he whispered softly as the visions ended. "It doesn't matter if you couldn't beat Selena. You did your part… and you came for me. I'd have done the same for you, or died trying."

"Shinji-kun," she whispered. Her voice sounded almost pathetic.

"I told you once before Asuka, you will find your strength. I will always believe in you."

She closed her eyes, squeezing out another tear. "Thank you…" she whispered.

He could feel that some of her confidence was returning, and he thanked whatever god held sway over the world for it. It wouldn't do now for Asuka to break on him, they all needed each other.

He lay with her upon the bed and held her close. She clung tightly to him she passed out, sleeping soundly. It was the best sleep she'd had in a while.

* * *

**Hours Later**

* * *

While Shinji and Asuka had slept, Rei had continued to investigate the mall for all its resources. When they awoke, Shinji had a new shirt waiting for him, and Rei had found a new set of clothing for Asuka to wear. For reasons Asuka didn't want to know, Rei apparently knew her exact size.

As they all sat on the bed in a circle facing each other, Asuka summoned a small ball of flame and floated it between them casting a glow over the children. Night had fallen, and though the mall was warded against demonic attack, the cold was another matter. Apparently the place was warm simply because of the sheer amount of amorous and lustful energy the place had. With Selena and her harem gone, the natural temperatures of the area were attempting to reassert themselves. Rei's very nature precluded the idea of needing warmth, but the other children were not immune to the cold.

"Shall I begin?" Rei asked the others and they nodded in response. "Very well. I'm sure you are now painfully aware of what Third Impact was meant to accomplish."

"The unification of all of our souls into some new god, right?" Shinji replied.

"Yes," Rei confirmed. "At least in layman's terms. The composite entity that was created is not, however a god. It is a powerful being indeed, but not a god, because humanity wasn't ready for ascension.

"The result is that humanity is now in a state of flux, isolated from the material world yet not strong enough or united enough to continue fully into the spiritual domain."

"Is there anyway to save them?" Asuka asked.

"There is but I will explain that in a moment." Asuka nodded that she was willing to wait.

"There have been two ages in this world's history," Rei continued, "the first was the time between the First Impact and about 6000 years ago. Christian theory states that an all powerful being, what they call Jehovah, created the universe. In reality we were created by unfathomable beings but not 'God' in the truest sense. For the sake of simplicity, we will simply call them 'The First'."

Shinji nodded that he was following.

"The First Race existed, according to lore as a kind of super-species that traveled the boundaries of the known universe and perhaps beyond. One day they came across our planet in its primordial stage and decided they would settle here. Their arrival was the first impact. Their vessel is what became the Black Moon. The creation of Earth's moon according to what we know was caused by the displacement of material from the surface to space after the impact.

"Shortly after they arrived, they began to experiment with what life they found. In time the race diverged into two sides; Angels and Demons. While both races were inherently similar in many respects, over time the differences became easier to spot. They also began to express very different ideologies. Angels worked for the betterment of their collective mind, while the Demons want to separate and create their own collective so they could be free of Adam, who they began to resent.

"The war that erupted could very well be the rebellion described in the bible. Lucifer was a demon who had hated languishing under Adam and had taken control over the rebel faction, organizing them into an effective fighting force. The war went back and forth, no side able to get a clear victory. The world was devastated and both races were nearly wiped out. In the end, the demons were defeated and the few remaining were banished from the material world until a parallel prison dimension known to many religions on this world as Hell.

"The angels Adam and Lilith were the last of the angels to exist. Adam however was not content to be alone and so he created the Angel known as Eve. With her he fathered a new race of Angels to replace the ones that were lost. Lilith however became jealous of Eve turned against her former husband. However Adam and Eve were far too powerful for Lilith alone, and so she was banished beneath the Earth, left to dwell within the Black Moon. Lilith was not content to wait out eternity in her prison, and so she created a race herself, one born from her own flesh just as Adam had recreated the Angels from himself. This race became known as the Lilim… or 'Children of Lilith'.

"Soon the Children of Adam began to depart from Earth to seek their own esoteric desires outside of the world they were created on. With Lilith's help, the ones who were left behind were overthrown by the Lilim. Eve was killed and Adam was now in a fix. Both he and Lilith agreed that they could continue this eternity long dispute or simply withdraw and declare a truce. As Adam's children had already moved on it was agreed that the Lilim would inherit the Earth."

Shinji's wheels turned at Rei's story. Many things seemed to add up now… especially how the genetics between humans and angels was so alike.

"So," Asuka began, "eventually humanity got too smart for itself and tried to take the power of the angels for themselves. Adam and Lilith may have sworn not to fight against each other anymore, but Adam's kids I'm guessing weren't in on that agreement."

"Correct," Rei replied. "You powers of deduction have not dulled I see."

Asuka smiled at that. Though she wasn't sure if Rei was being serious or sarcastic, she accepted the compliment.

"When Adam and Lilith went to sleep, humans inherited the Earth, thus starting the Second Age. Second Impact marked the twilight days of that age, as the Angels returned and Third Impact loomed closer. When the two of you returned to Earth, the Second Age ended. We are now in the Third Age."

"Kind of like LoTR huh?" Shinji replied.

Rei blinked. "Though I too have read the works of Tolken, this is nothing like that at all. With Angels gone and humanity ascended, the prison set aside for the demons has weakened. They have begun to bleed into this world again. They believe it is their time, and they have had a long time to prepare for this."

"So… it's war then." Asuka surmised.

"I doubt the demons were expecting to have to fight a war, but they prepared for one either way. We can end The Third Age and reassert the Second Age again, give the world back to the Lilim, but we need the help of the Angels to do it."

"Aren't they all dead?" Shinji asked.

"Do you really think Adam only had 15 children?"

"I guess not." Shinji hadn't thought of that. "So how does that explain us?"

"We are effectively what human engineers call… a 'Fail Safe'."

Both Shinji and Asuka blinked at that.

"Now that the demons have asserted control over the world, the Angels can not approach it… and humanity can not return either. Once we have managed to loosen the demon's grip on this world, any human that wishes to return to Earth can if they can imagine the walls around their souls."

"In other words, rebuild their AT Fields," Asuka clarified.

"Yes."

"Well that's all well and good," Shinji replied. "But how are the three of us going to accomplish that without back up? We're powerful… and we're getting stronger all the time, but we can't win this without support."

"I know," Rei replied. "But there is more to this fail safe than you think. We are special… all three of us had important roles in the Third Impact. I helped control it, you were the focus and Asuka was in fact the trigger. A sacrifice needed to be made in order to initiate Third Impact, and you Asuka were that sacrifice, though I'm sure even SEELE didn't know that."

"Lucky me," she groaned, remembering the pain of being lanced nine times then torn to pieces and feasted upon.

"With the flesh of your EVA, the mass production EVAs were strong enough to act as the catalyst for Third Impact. As each of us was a part of it, we all returned as beings known as Envoys."

"Envoys?" Shinji replied. "Like, some kind of messengers or something?"

"It is the three of us that will usher in the return of the previous age but only after strife. Each one of us is an aspect of that change. I have the blood of Lilith in my veins, the creator of the human race. I am the Envoy of the Beginning as I represent the beginning. You Asuka, were the sacrifice needed to initiate the Third Impact, therefore you are the Envoy of the End."

"Where does that leave me?" Shinji asked.

"You Shinji, were the one who decided that if people wanted to return they could. You are the reason what we must now attempt is even possible. Therefore, you are the Envoy of the Rebirth. Together we function not just as powerful angelic warriors, but also as the keys to allowing the angels to return and help us defeat their age old foes."

"And how do we do that Rei?" Shinji asked.

"There is a gateway, protected from the demons on this world. It is an ancient artifact that existed during the time of the First Race. It is known as the Celestial Gate. The three of us must reach it and activate it. Only the three of us can do it. Once the gate is opened, the Angels scattered across the universe will return to Earth, and then the real work can begin."

The children were silent for a few moments, as the monumental nature of what they were now apart of sunk in. It was Asuka who spoke up first.

"Well Wondergirl, what are we waiting for?"

"Shinji?" Rei asked. "Do you feel the same way?"

Shinji sat still for a moment before he spoke. "My father made me pilot EVA 01 by waving you in front of my face as blackmail… I've fought many angels, and in a way fought my own inner demons… but I never wanted any of those battles… I hated what I had become. But now… now I realize something I never did before. Only now, after the end have I been given a purpose that has a chance to really change things. Now I have the opportunity to fight for a cause that is both pure and just." He raised his head. "I'd be a fool to refuse it. I never wanted to be a hero… but if this is the road before me, so be it."

"Great!" Asuka said with a whoop of joy. "So when do we leave?"

"Better question," Shinji interrupted. "Where are we going? You said the Celestial Gate is on Earth, but where?"

"The bastion of the strongest religion this world had at the end of the Second Age… the seat of power for Christianity… Rome."

"Rome?!" Asuka nearly exclaimed. "But that's nearly on the other side of the world!"

"And we can't fly yet," Shinji added.

"Don't count on being able to any time soon either," Rei added. "At least not for very long distances. Your powers are still building, but it will take time before you can really spread your wings. I can't even achieve flight yet… but then again, I have yet to see my wings."

"Well, you didn't say it would be easy Wondergirl," Asuka replied. "I just wish it wasn't THIS hard."

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," Shinji replied. "If I've learned anything, it's that."

"We should spend time resting up here and gather what supplies we can move. I do not require food or warm clothing by my nature, but until your angelic nature asserts itself properly, you will need to worry about such provisions."

"I know," Shinji replied. "Let's get some rest for now. We'll start making plans on how to proceed later…."

* * *

The children bedded down in the furniture store that night. Despite the distance between where they were and the nearest outer wall of the mall, they could hear the wind howling. Another blizzard was raging outside.

"Shinji," Asuka whispered.

Shinji's grip on her tightened slightly.

"Do… do you think we'll be able to make it? We're not only fighting the elements, but we'll have to fight demons too. Chances are, they know what we're going to try to do… and they'll do everything in their power to stop us."

"I know," he whispered back. "But it doesn't matter. We're the last hope for humanity… we mustn't think about failure… we won't. We'll get there and call our… brethren… and then we'll take the fight to them. And when we do… we'll kick their sorry asses off our planet."

Asuka liked the confident Shinji she knew now. She smiled slightly and nuzzled into him more. His confidence was her assurance that they could prevail over what awaited them.

But that confidence was a front. Deep down Shinji knew the odds were stacked heavily against them….

* * *

_Rome… of all the places the portal could be, it was in Rome. That was a trip of nearly Ten-Thousand Kilometers by air… well, if I did my math right based on the maps we found, just over 9700 Kilometers. Either way it was a long way off in a straight line…and we couldn't travel that by air yet. We would have to travel on foot until we could. Assuming a smooth road and a straight shot at 4 kph which is average walking speed, and round the clock walking, we wouldn't get there for over a hundred days. And we still had to figure out how to cross the Sea of Japan. _

_It seemed an insurmountable task at the time. And the path ahead would be filled with danger…How would we ever get though it alive? I'd end up asking that question a lot over the days I was in Suzaka… but I stopped asking the question the moment we hit the road. It didn't matter anymore that it was such a long distance or that realistically it would take over a year… it had to be done. And no matter what got in our way, nothing would stop us."_

_Shinji Ikari_

_December 6th, 2017_

* * *

**End of Chapter 6**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try to fake it but all wounds are there to see…_


	7. On the Road Again

**A/N: **Chapters 1 though 6 have been edited; some wording has changed though the events are unchanged. I'd still suggest a reread, but it's up to you.

* * *

**VII: On the Road Again**

* * *

The wind howled most of the night… and it became so loud at one point that Shinji could have sworn that there was a hole in the building though which the winter air was entering. However, the air temperature wasn't anywhere near cold… in fact it was comfortable. Of course, Shinji realized he was holding Asuka, whose primary element as Envoy of the End was fire. She was generating a decent amount of heat and keeping him warm. This was ironic to him, since he knew that normally, girls get cold faster than guys do.

But Shinji knew she was squandering energy by doing so, energy she would need in the coming days. He would have to talk to her about that later…

Nearby he caught a bluish light and shifted himself a little so he could see the source. Rei was awake, in her light clothing and appeared to be creating a blue ball of energy between her hands. As she did so, Shinji could see angelic symbols on the ground and walls around him. They were spaced widely apart but the markings were somehow connected to each other in a series of intricate spiral patterns. He surmised that they made up the warding spell she mentioned yesterday, though he knew nothing about how it worked.

Rei opened her eyes and examined the ball of energy between her hands. She almost appeared to be scrutinizing it, examining it for flaws or imperfections. Eventually she frowned slightly and stopped concentrating on it, allowing the energy to disperse and fade. Once it was gone, darkness reclaimed the furniture store, but the glyphs still glowed with a pale light.

"The spell is degrading faster than I had anticipated," Rei said in a low voice.

"How did you know I was awake?" he asked her.

"I sensed it." The sound of fabric shifting could be heard and Shinji surmised she had stood up. "Shinji, you can sense the state of the weather I assume?"

"Yeah," He replied. In fact, he had a dream about it. The cloud mass around the planet was beginning to thicken further. What little thermal energy was left on the planet stayed for the time being, but more of the sun's rays were now being deflected back out into space. It was going to get even colder now, and he wasn't sure just how he was going to handle it.

"Then you know the difficulty that awaits us."

"How much does the enemy know?"

He expected an "I do not know" from her as how would she have any ideas herself, but that wasn't what she had said.

"Though I am uncertain as to the extent of their knowledge, they know of the existence of the Envoys and wish to divine their purpose. Undoubtedly, if they knew what we were going to do, they would do everything they could to stop us now, while we were stationary." She paused. "The enemy found me after my arrival on this world and captured me while I was weak. I was delivered to a demonic scientist named Cyclos. He attempted to extract the information from me but I regained some of my strength and fought my way out of his laboratory."

Shinji took it in, unblinking and silent.

"But his meddling proved more difficult. He had installed some form of limiter into me in the form of a curse. I had to break that curse with a ritual but I did not know the ritual. My first priority was to find the two of you."

"Don't you think we should wait until Asuka is awake before we go into detail about this?"

Rei smirked slightly in the darkness. "What makes you think she isn't already awake?"

"Aww," Asuka whined. "You spoiled my fun Wondergirl. I should be used to that though."

"May I continue?" Rei asked.

"Go for it," the red-head replied. "This is getting interesting."

"Well, I arrived at Tokyo-3 but you had already moved on by the time I arrived. There I was met by one of the original messengers… Tabris."

"Kaworu?!" Shinji said surprised. "But… I killed him!"

"You only killed his manifestation Shinji," Rei replied. "Tabris is closer to the evolved angels that left Earth long ago… as the Angel of Free Will, he was able to evolve with them. He is not the only one of the original messengers that survived the war. I know others did as well."

"I see."

"When I met Tabris, he told me of the cure and also told me that the two of you went to Tokyo-2. I wanted to go after you knowing what awaited you there, but Tabris told me to leave the two of you to deal with your situation and deal with my own. At his direction, I climbed to the top of Mount Odake to a hidden chapel… there I found what I needed, but two Reaver-class demons followed. Though I defeated them, I was injured and needed time to recover. I didn't take much however before I performed the ritual and released the curse. Once I did, I knew where I needed to go. A vision showed that you were heading here, to Suzaka. I set out and arrived barely in time to save you and Asuka from your fate."

"Impeccable timing by the way," Shinji replied.

"I hate being rescued," Asuka complained, "but in a way, it didn't hurt my pride as much as it could of… I guess."

"Do not fear Asuka," Rei whispered, "your true strength has yet to surface. It is only a matter of time."

Asuka let go of Shinji and sat up. As Shinji moved to sit up with her, she conjured a ball of fire in her hand, floating it just above the palm where it could shed light and heat into the room.

"And now we're on a psycho quest to restore the world by kicking the scumbag demons off of it with the help of the very things we were fighting against for the past year," Asuka commented. "Jeeze, why don't we ever get the easy jobs?"

"Hey," Shinji retorted, "at least we don't have to do something really stupid like chop down the largest tree in the forest with a herring, or something like that."

Asuka laughed, recognizing the reference immediately.

"I had no idea you watched comedy movies from the west," she said with a surprise.

"Kensuke told me about it and showed it to me in pieces over the course of a week a while back."

Asuka chuckled lightly, but the mention of one of the stooges brought a question to her mind that she needed answered.

"Rei," she started, "when all this is over… will our friends come back?"

"I believe they would want to return," she replied. "I know you must miss our Class Representative a lot."

"Yeah… I loved Hikari… you know, not in the les way or anything… but she was like a watchful sister to me. I just wished I treated her better in the end."

Rei frowned slightly. "I do not believe Representative Horaki would be pleased with you degrading yourself in this manner."

"You're right Rei, she wouldn't. But I can't help but be a little regretful for some of my actions before Third Impact."

Shinji poked her lightly in the side. "I thought we agreed, no more regrets." His words were meant to be inspirational, and Asuka tried her best to feel that way but she couldn't help but think maybe things would have been different if she hadn't allowed herself to waste away pining for a life she couldn't have at that time.

"I know Shinji-kun," she replied. "I'll be okay."

Rei stood up and spoke. "Since none of us are apparently getting further sleep, I would suggest we make our preparations. We may need a few days to work this out and recover from our previous injuries before we can continue."

"Agreed," Shinji replied.

* * *

The Children remained at the mall for a further three days, stocking up needed supplies and resting most of the time. They would need all their strength for what was to come. While at one of the stores, Shinji found a map of Japan. Though it didn't show anything in the surrounding area, he started to devise a route to get to a point where Japan and its nearest neighbor on the main continent were closest. It was the first step in what promised to be a long list of steps in order to reach their ultimate goal of Rome.

Using the maps Shinji found, he put together the first steps of their quest. Their primary goal at this point would be to leave Japan. He deliberated about how to go about that but was still unsure.

"Rei," he asked as she entered the bookstore he was in looking for more books to burn for heat for Asuka. "How strong is your control over ice?"

"Strong, but I lack full control over my abilities, same as you," she replied.

His face grimaced at that. "We have to find a way to cross the Sea of Japan."

"That should not be a problem Onii-san," she replied. The honorific was not lost on Shinji as he looked up. "The ice age has more than likely frozen the sea over completely. We should be able to simply walk across it."

Shinji hadn't considered that. "Then I have the first leg of our journey planned. Our first goal should be South Korea. I'll explain over dinner… Imoh-to."

Rei smiled gently, accepting the honorific of "Younger Sister" just as she called him her older brother. It was just another example of how close their sibling relationship has become.

* * *

Canned food was so much better when it was cooked by Shinji. At least, this is what Rei and Asuka believed as they were served the meal of canned meat and vegetables with Shinji's skill and spice choices. Rei of course abstained from the meat as her system, even now, could not handle it. Shinji figured it had something to do with Lillith herself.

"Ok," Shinji started between bites. "This is the plan. We need to get to Rome as soon as we can, though the trip is likely to still take the better part of a year. With luck we can get there sooner but the way our luck has been going lately, the best we can hope for is getting there just in a nick of time.

"The first leg of our journey, indeed the first major goal is going to be to get to South Korea across the Sea of Japan. Rei-san said that the water is likely frozen over so we can effectively walk across the sea. Based on that..." he opened a large map, "… this is how we're going to work it. We're currently in Suzaka, we'll take this highway out of town to the south west which will take us to Kyoto. From there we'll follow the roads to the city of Kobe, then to Okayama, past the ruins of Hiroshima, then to Shimonoseki and finally to the water-logged ruins of Fukuoda. From there we'll walk across the ice of the Sea of Japan roughly westward until we reach Busan, South Korea. I figure this will take about 4 to 7 days of hard travel. The first day should put us in Okayama, the second at Fukuoda. Then it'll take about 2 days to cross the ice."

"I'm a little worried about Okayama," Asuka said at length, "I know it's not as big a city as Kyoto, but it's still a decent sized city and is likely to attract some demons in the same way Tokyo-2 did."

"I agree," Rei replied. "However I believe the danger is minimal. Regardless of what we do, we will need to stop places for supplies and shelter. Inevitably, this means we may need to fight."

"I'd like to avoid confrontations if possible, but Rei is right," Shinji agreed, "there will be times when conflict will be unavoidable. Besides, we may run into more celestial animals."

"Or fiendish," Rei added.

"Oh great," Asuka replied with a groan. "So not only can these animals be like angels but they can have demonic properties as well?"

"Entirely possible," Rei replied.

"How did this happen?" Shinji asked.

"The celestial energies of Third Impact mutated some of the animals left behind. With demons and daemons ripping into the world though the weakened barriers between Hell and Earth, the residual energy left behind can mutate creatures the same way."

"Meaning the more demons cross over, the more fucked up the world becomes," Asuka commented.

"Essentially."

"Terrific."

"What comes after the crossing, Onii-san?"

Shinji pulled out another map, a rudimentary map of the world. "The path I'm thinking will take us though some rough territory but not nearly as bad as if we took the longer routes. I don't have specific routes planned yet since I need more detailed maps for that, but, the general idea is this; Japan to South Korea to North Korea to China, then India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, though Kuwait and across Saudi Arabia, then to Egypt, Libya then somehow cross the med to Malta then to Sicily and finally arrive on the southern shores of Italy. From there we just go north."

"Much of this route takes us away from any cities I've noticed," Asuka said. "I hope we can carry enough provisions for this."

"I'm only worried once we hit Western Pakistan," he replied. "From there until maybe Malta, we're gonna have problems keeping supplies up."

"With luck, you will evolve beyond food by then like I have," Rei replied. "I can subsist just off my core. The two of you will be able to do so eventually."

"That's comforting," Asuka replied. "Let's hope it's before we run out of food."

* * *

**The Next Day**

* * *

Early that morning, the three began to gather the needed supplies and pack them into large hiking backpacks. Though Rei needed none of the supplies, she had no qualms about carrying a share of the supplies in order to ensure that they had enough to continue their journey.

"It appears we are just in time Onii-san," Rei replied. "In roughly one hour, the wards over the mall will fail. After that, any demons in the area will reclaim the mall."

"Good thing we'll be long gone by then," Shinji replied as he shrugged on his pack. As he could carry much weight, it was filled to capacity. Asuka's own pack was similarly filled and together, the three of them exited out of the south entrance of Suzaka Mall.

Through the howling wind and driving snow, the three children pushed forward. Though Rei was the only one of the three who could see well in the white haze that was the Japanese landscape now, Shinji and Asuka both could see just well enough to keep Rei in visual range at all times. Communication was difficult with the nearly gale force winds as loud as they were. Shinji noticed trees that were iced over before many of their leaves could fall out. It was as if the trees had forgotten after the endless summer how to shed their leaves in preparation for the colder months. But perhaps they simply had no time to do so before the snow set in, Shinji remembered that it was only a few days after they had awoken on the beach before the first snow fell.

Irregardless of the reasons, the trees were almost terrifying in a way, their branches low to the ground covered in ice and heavy snow; some branches were stripped clean and seemed to grasp at the sky like huge skeletal hands in the white haze while others formed macabre shapes on the ground.

The children tried to ignore this creepy scene and pressed on.

* * *

**Nightfall, Okayama**

* * *

Although there were no signs of potential demonic forces in the area when they arrived, Shinji still didn't trust the scene before him. Okayama was dark and deserted on the surface but something didn't seem right at all.

"I smell a trap," Shinji commented as they looked over the city.

"Agreed, Onii-san," Rei replied.

Asuka walked up to his right side and looked down over the city. "So what are we waiting for?"

"It may not be wise to go down there," Rei clarified for her hot heated associate.

"Then what do you suggest? Shinji and I are going to need to get rest soon, and we're not going to rest well in this weather. It's gonna be like this all night isn't it?"

Shinji nodded. "We could hit a small town, but we should take every opportunity to stock up on supplies we use on route. Besides, we might find something else useful, like perhaps a way to transport more material. Hard to find anything like that in small towns right?"

"So you agree with Asuka then?" Rei asked.

He nodded in response.

Sighing, she nodded once and began the walk down the hill towards the city below.

They made there way down the main boulevard of the city noticing the state of the buildings and the frozen state of the entire town. Though they could find supplies here, Shinji was certain it would become harder and harder to find viable supplies as the world literally froze to death.

Rather suddenly, the wind died down causing the snow still in the air to flurry to the ground rather than race by them in sheets. The children sensed the presence of demons nearby and immediately dropped their backpacks, going into a three way back to back stance. Rei held her lance before her, while Asuka called out her gauntlets, boots and warblades. Shinji summoned his greaves and Talons. This time, as they summoned the items, what they normally wore in their place was not obliterated by their appearance.

Goat-men of several different power ranks appeared around them, moving from out of the buildings and alleyways while gargoyle like demons landed on the tops of the buildings around them.

"I assume this is what you were expecting Imoh-to?" Shinji asked.

"Yes," she said in deadpan. "I'm sure you were expecting the same."

"I knew we were going to have to fight at some point," Asuka said, "but I wasn't expecting it to be our first day out of the mall."

"_**So… three angels walk into my town," **_a voice said above what little wind remained. The tone seemed to be one of a man about to tell a joke. The children looked in the direction of the sound and saw a bird-like daemon land on one of the nearby vehicles frozen in snow and ice. _**"If you were looking for a shortcut… you found only your untimely deaths." **_

"And you are?" Shinji asked in deadpan.

"_**Call me Valketh. I'm one of the Generals of Avarice, and I bid you welcome to the town of Okayama… or should I say, demon nest of Okayama. I must say, we never expected to find sentient prey here."**_

"_He must not realize who we are,"_ Shinji thought.

"_The thought had occurred to me," _Rei replied mentally. _"That being said, the less we say the better. If we give his men a bloody nose, maybe he'll call them off."_

"_Just so we know," _Asuka replied. _"I'm liking this telepathy stuff."_

"If you're looking for prey, you should probably go out into the wilderness and look for something more your skill level… like say, a Jack Rabbit."

Valketh hissed at the insult and the demons around readied their weapons. Like most goat-men, they carried polearms and spears as their primary weapons.

"_**That is your last mistake angel. Take them!"**_

"Let's do this," Shinji said aloud and the three suddenly launched off the pads of their feet in three different directions. Valketh wasn't expecting the angels to suddenly go on the offensive considering they were so horribly out numbered. He was even more shocked when the three reached the surging lines of demons converging on them.

As Asuka hit the line she was aiming for, her blades lit on fire and she started hacking her way though, slashing quickly and fluidly, spinning, dodging and weaving as she continued her path of destruction. The demons trying to stop her couldn't even so much as slow her down as they fell to pieces around her, horrible shrieks that sounded like goats being slaughtered echoed over the main street.

Shinji's path of destruction was of a similar vein, though in his case it was even closer and even more personal. Rather than slicing them into pieces as his love was doing, Shinji instead tore into them with taloned gauntlets maiming and butchering as he went. He pounced from target to target like a rabid animal, clawing at the face, chest, and stomach, whatever it took to bring them down. Some had their guts spilled while others bled out from veins and arteries torn wide open. Still other bled to death from gaping sockets where their limbs used to be.

On Rei's side, her mastery of Ice turned this city into her personal playground. Walls of razor sharp blades of ice tore up in lines away from her as she causally walked forward. Demons that did manage to reach her were quickly countered and run though. A spin here and another demon fell to the floor, tripped up by the lance then impaled upon massive frozen spikes. A slide to the right, and another demon went sprawling into a frozen trap.

Valketh got over his initial shock and ordered counter offensives from his back up forces. He knew he still had a major numbers advantage over them, but he couldn't believe the sheer power at their fingertips.

Shinji launched massive bolts of lightning into the air to fend off the gargoyles as Asuka simply dodged them to keep attacking the ground forces. She summoned a wave of flame, incinerating a swath of them before additional reinforcements could make themselves know.

Suddenly, she felt an approach from above and behind. She spun in time to see Valketh drop from above with both of his icy swords out. Asuka blocked the attack from above and her wings ripped free of her back. She thanked Shinji silently that he knew enough about sewing to sew the Velcro slits into her cloths this time so she could call her wings without destroying her clothing. The very wings themselves seemed to light aflame she she pushed back against Valketh.

"You picked the wrong angel to fight," she said with a wicked smile.

"_**You overestimate your powers," **_he countered,_** "and I'm going to make you pay for that mistake."**_

"_Be careful my love, he's a General," _Shinji said in her mind.

"_Don't worry, I got this."_

Asuka pushed off and began to press her advantage, attacking with a series of slashes and swipes that put a lot of force into each blow. Valketh kept up with her blocking each blade in time but he could feel the strength of the strikes against his blades. Having enough of this, he kicked her back hard causing her to back flip. As she flew back, he crossed his blades in front of him causing a large amount of frozen energy to focus around the blades.

"_**This will cool you down,"**_ he quipped.

He ran his blades across in a motion of a cross slash in Asuka's direction, causing the energy to burst into a shotgun like spread of icy spikes. Since she was still airborne she did the only thing she could do; crossed her blades, tucked her knees in and shrouded herself with her wings. While her AT Field was being nullified, the flames on her wings melted and rendered the ice useless as it struck. Her wings whipped back open as she landed throwing off steam and water that was becoming steam into the air around her. The steam quickly turned back into snow as it descended.

She flipped her right blade in a reverse grip brought it up and slammed it down into the ground in front of her causing a line of flames to fire out in a direct line towards her target. Valketh dodged the attack though he was shocked she was able to survive a move he normally never failed to kill with.

"Nice try," Asuka replied to his quip, "but I like it hot." She flipped the blade back into a normal grip and launched forward again, this time seeming to skim over the ground as a single wing beat propelled her into a mid air dash. Valketh was almost beheaded by the attack but managed to dodge it in time to turn around and see Asuka dropping on him from above. He blocked the attack but the force of the hit threw him backwards.

Shinji landed outside the battle area, as the demons remaining in his area were now staying back from him in pure terror.

"We should help her," Rei replied as she walked up to his left side.

"No," Shinji replied. "She can take him. She needs this."

Valketh stopped in time to see that the armor over Asuka's arms was now up to her shoulders. Plates of red metal angled into almost flame-like patterns formed the mantle of her armor, and two leather straps crossed her chest over her coat to hold the plates in place. Her upper arms appeared to be partially plated and partly protected with thin red chain mail. Flames seemed to lick all of the armored parts of her body and her wings, yet nothing flammable on her was catching fire.

"_**What in the name of Hell are you?!"**_ he cried out, now fully terrified of this apparition.

Asuka's eyes glowed with red flame. "I am the destroyer of demons, the purifier who cleanses this world of the filth of your kind. I am your doom, for I am Asuka Langley Sohryu, Envoy of the End."

Without another word she rushed at him, slashing in such a rapid fashion that she eventually broke though his defenses and cut deep into him. As soon as the pain of the burning wounds set in, Asuka finished the job, reversing her grip on her left blade and slicing up from crotch to crown as she reversed the grip on her right blade as well. Before he could slide apart she slashed horizontally with her right successfully cutting him into quarters.

As his pieces hit the ground and began to burn away, the remaining demons in the town turned and fled into the storm, no longer desiring to fight such losing odds. Asuka watched them run with only disdain and hatred on her face.

* * *

**Later**

* * *

Inside what used to be a grocery store, the three children had a fire going in the middle of the floor controlled by Asuka's manipulation of the flames to keep the floor of lighting a blaze. Though they ate canned meat and in Rei's case, vegetables, they were none-the-less enjoying the meal.

"Fell better?" Shinji asked.

"Like a million yen," Asuka replied. "and you were worried Rei."

"I see my worries were misplaced," Rei admitted. "Forgive me for doubting you, however we didn't know the true strength of the forces here. This could have gone differently."

"Rei is right about that," Shinji pointed out. "From now on, we better take more precautions before trying a stunt like that again."

"I know, don't worry," Asuka replied. "You did see the way I killed that so called General right Shinji-kun? And you only killed a Lieutenant so far!"

Shinji smirked a bit at her superiority complex. It reminded him of the old her. Of course he wouldn't mention the fact that Valketh was probably far weaker than Jhorgandahar was despite the rank since the later worked directly for Asteroth himself, but she need this ego boost. He let her have the victory.

* * *

**1 Day Later**

* * *

Fukuoda was a major fishing village before Second Impact. Now most of it was underwater, and with the oceans beginning to freeze over, it was entombed within many meters of ice.

The children spent the last 24 hours on what amounted to a forced march across southern Japan. Now here at the coastline, they stared at bleak white field that was the Sea of Japan.

Shinji checked his compass before looking out over the endless white plain. "We camp here. Then in the morning we start across that endless stretch of ice."

"Wunderbar," Asuka groaned. "This was actually the part I wasn't looking forward to. If we get attacked out there, I'm going to have to be very careful about how I use my powers."

Rei turned and started forming up the ice into an igloo of sorts. The trio entered the rude fortification of ice and snow. Inside, Asuka used her power to create a ball of warm energy that extended only a small distance around them.

"I'm sure you'll be alright Asuka," Shinji said as they entered and watched Asuka prepare the ball of energy. "It's at least two days to cross the sea of Japan. We're not going to have any cover from the elements at all as we cross."

"Terrific," Asuka said. "At least Wondergirl will be fine."

Rei looked at Asuka and actually smiled gently at the moniker. "Indeed, I seem to have an unfair advantage."

The trio ate, slept and regenerated. Early the next morning, at least they believed it was the next morning as the exact location of the sun was unknown, they awoke and had their breakfast.

As Rei made the igloo go away the three stared across the frozen Sea of Japan.

"I've heard an old saying," Shinji began. "It's said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We've come a ways since Tokyo-3 Asuka-chan, but now, now we're leaving what's left of the country we knew behind. Now our journey truly begins."

"Of course," Asuka replied, "a 9700 kilometer trek equates to just over six of those thousand mile journeys."

"If we can do a thousand, we can do six thousand," he said confidently.

"So long as we stay together," Rei replied, "we will be fine."

"That's the idea Imoh-to," Shinji agreed. "Asuka-chan? Shall we?"

Asuka nodded. "So it begins…" she said ominously.

With that, the three began walking down the edge of what pretended to be the shoreline here in Fukuoda. A rolling thunder was in the far west as they stood upon the sea of Japan, and the occasional lightning strike was visible in the distance, lighting the darkened skies up on the horizon in white. Though "thundersnow" was rare, Shinji had a feeling he would be seeing a lot of that over the next year….

* * *

_And so we began the long trek across the Sea of Japan, leaving our once beloved homeland behind us… Well, it wasn't Asuka's homeland per se, though she traced her roots to it. It was the place where our lives were shaped forever. _

_We fought so hard to keep Tokyo-3 safe from the Angels, but in the end, the city was lost. The entire country of Japan was now locked in ice, and political borders were now rendered moot. It was tough on us as we realized all of these little things. Even Rei was saddened, as she could trace her happiest moments, her time with me, back to that place. Of course, it wasn't like we were going to stop making moments. I have a life with Asuka now, and Rei is just as important to me as she ever was._

_Ahead of us on the horizon, we knew many battles loomed. But it wasn't the demons that scared us so much anymore. Asuka proved in Okayama that we were strong together, and that we could always find a way to survive against the demons. But every battle we fought would ignite our path to the likes of Legion and Cyclos._

_I had no choice but to assume at that point that they knew that the Envoys had been united and that they were now on route to do whatever it was we were meant to do. We soon discovered that something was hounding our every footstep. We were being tracked across the wastes by something, and every so often it would find us._

_It made for a very harrowing year…_

_Shinji Ikari_

_January 2nd 2018_

* * *

**End of Chapter 7**

* * *

**End of Act 1**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try and fake it but all wound are there to see…_

* * *

**A/N: **It's been a very long time since I updated this story. It's likely to be a major focus for me right now since its one of the few major projects I have left on my list before I have to start coming up with new ones for EVA.

The entire story up to Chapter six has been reedited to iron out flaws found in the original material. Most notably, you'll notice that chapters 1 thru 7 now comprise Act 1 of this epic tale. Chapter 8 of course is the beginning of Act 2.

Thundersnow is a real phenomenon. Also called a Winter Thunderstorm or Thunder Snowstorm, it's rare but can happen. There is an article in Wikipedia if you're interested in reading about it. Just last winter they had one in Massachusetts here in the states.

I'm not going to bore you with my life again, but I have moved again, this time to Texas. Hopefully the job market is better here, otherwise I won't be able to keep writing for very much longer.

There weren't any reviews of chapter six really worth replying to, but meh, it's all good. I'll see everyone next chapter. Thanks again for sticking around and/or coming back.


	8. The Journey Begins

**Act II: The Journey Begins**

* * *

**Chapter VIII: The Lonely Sea**

* * *

**Sea of Japan, Day 1**

* * *

It was very dark that morning. The sun which hadn't been seen since before Third Impact had always been visible in some form, even if its location was unknown. There was always a sign though; an area of light in the sky that was a bit brighter than the others, a crack of lighter area in the clouds that was almost luminous. This day however, the entire sky was simply a deep grey that was barely lit at all. As Shinji looked back towards the shoreline at Fukuoda, it was becoming less and less visible in the haze. Looking forward he saw the threatening thundersnow in the distance and above, the barely lit grey skies almost seemed to churn with violence and the threat of snuffing that light completely.

The ominous feeling he was getting was indescribable. Though the snow had let up about 20 minutes after they began walking across the frozen Sea of Japan, the distance to which he could see had improved little. Asuka also seemed to be affected by this feeling as she also occasionally looked back at the shoreline as if afraid it would simply disappear if she didn't.

Rei was the only one who didn't appear to have that issue. She knew where they were to go and her direction sense was nearly perfect. The lack of visible land affected her little, but she sensed the discomfort of her companions and was worried that this trip across the nearly endless sea of ice would be difficult for them to handle. Though they had faced many foes, the endless empty expanse could bring about fear… fear of becoming nothing, or being lost forever in an expansive sea of nothing where not even demons would dare to tread.

About two hours later, those feelings of fear began to become real as they could no longer see the Japanese coastline behind them, but not for a lack of ability to see in the distance. There was no snow falling, the air was clear, they could now see all the way to the horizon. There simply wasn't anything to see; Japan had fallen below the curvature of the Earth.

Rei continued to press on, and her companions followed. Shinji and Asuka stayed close to each other, holding on to each other for comfort. But the blue haired ice queen could empathize. This new incarnation of Rei Ayanami had the ability to understand and express her emotions slightly better than any of her previous artificially created existences could. It was lonely out here in the endless frozen flatland that was once a major waterway between countries with not so much as a tree or rock to change the scenery. With loneliness came uncertainty, with uncertainty came fear.

But Rei was determined to keep them moving. She had begun to feel something ominous in the air as well, as if there was danger everywhere, but there was no obvious source. The skies revealed no flying demons and the frozen surface was barren as far as they eye could see. The scary thought came next, as Rei realized the psychic warning could be pointing below the ice itself.

About midday (at least by Rei's estimates) the thundersnow was almost upon them, and the blue haired Nephilim decided it was time to take a break. She produced ice from thin air creating a shelter from the elements just as the snow began to fall in a thick blanket, pushed to a steep angle by the relentless wind. Wasting no time at all, the other two children huddled inside the icy construct, and only then did Rei follow.

"Onii-san," Rei asked in her sweet voice, "are you okay?"

"As well as can be expected," Shinji replied. Rei looked to Asuka next.

"Hanging on," she replied. "This crossing is more difficult than I realized."

"We have not seen any land formations for several hours now," Rei replied. "I have heard a term for this kind of fear. Agoraphobia."

"We're not mental Rei!" Asuka protested.

"No, you are not, but it is natural to feel this way in such a wide open expanse that is potentially dangerous or deadly. We know the risks of being out here."

"No cover from attacks or the weather for instance," Shinji replied sourly. "Plus I keep getting this feeling we're being followed from below."

"I too have had these feelings," Rei agreed. "The implications are dire."

"Wait," Asuka said fearfully. "There's something below us?"

"Potentially," Rei replied. "It is not something I can identify. But I can tell it is demonic in origin."

"Wunderbar," Asuka whispered in German. "What can we do?"

"Nothing," Rei replied immediately. "Nothing until it makes a move. Eat and rest up, we'll leave within the hour."

"In that?" Shinji asked, pointing out the nearly horizontal snow. "You may not be adversely affected by…" A sudden crash of thunder and simultaneous flash of lightning stopped his explanation short. The sheer volume made Asuka scream as she was already on edge with all of this talk of demons beneath the ice.

Shinji held her as she clung to him briefly. She calmed herself quickly.

"Maybe we should listen to Shinji-kun for now," Asuka replied quickly.

"How long with this last?" Rei asked Shinji with a slight look of disapproval on her face.

"At least three hours, we'll need to hang here. The atmosphere here is very unstable, and the wind and storm will get worse before it gets better."

"We are… I believe the term is 'sitting ducks' while we remain within this enclosure. However I concede that it would be far too difficult for you to travel in this tempest, and you will require my direction sense to get us to South Korea."

"Besides," Shinji amended, "We need to stick together, imoh-tu. I know you wish to get off of the sea as fast as possible, especially with something potentially stalking us from below, but we'll stand a greater chance of survival if we stay as a group."

Rei frowned at what Shinji implied but saw the logic in his assumption. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to suggest we split up."

"Nothing to forgive Wondergirl," Asuka replied. "I know you won't leave us!"

Rei nodded and the shelter remained silent for a time. Every so often, another flash of lightning and crack of thunder would reverberate across the sea. With nothing to reflect off of, the sound was short lived but very loud.

* * *

Nearly four hours later, the storm calmed into a light flurry that was blowing in a near constant western wind. When Shinji stepped out of the shelter, he noticed the waves of snow that were blowing across the ice. He also noted that none of the snow was sticking to the ice and was simply being blown towards Japan. However he noted that the thickness of the ice was different now. Where the shelter stood, the ice layer was a few slivers lower than outside.

"It looks like the snow is simply adding to the thickness of the ice," he observed.

Rei looked out over the vastness again. "Indeed," she replied. "The volume of snow has been blown away, but many individual crystals of the frozen water have stuck to the surface of the sea and added to it as you say. We will need to keep moving. I doubt the creature beneath us can reach us though this thick ice."

"What happens when the ice is not so thick?" Asuka asked fearfully.

"It will likely make its move. I can sense the ice thickness, so stay close to me. I'll try to keep us away from any thin areas."

"Works for me."

The trio continued onwards. As time ticked by, Rei felt the children behind her staying even closer to her.

"Imoh-tu," Shinji asked, "are you sure this is the right way?"

"I am certain," Rei replied immediately. "You can trust my sense of direction so long as we can trust your initial direction."

"I double checked to make sure we were going the right way."

Rei nodded. "Then we are on the correct heading. Relax, onii-san. I will not lead us astray."

The snow started again a few hours later but by the time it got bad, it was already nightfall. Rei created another shelter for them but didn't go in immediately. Shinji looked back and saw Rei was watching over the endless plain of ice.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I do not know," Rei replied. "I have a bad feeling."

Shinji watched with anxiety as the snow continued to get worse. Just when he couldn't see Rei anymore, she came in to the shelter and mostly sealed the entryway, leaving only enough space for air to circulate.

Asuka looked on worried. "It's been almost a full day of travel now and we haven't seen anything out here at all."

"Tomorrow will be better," Shinji promised. "Don't worry Asuka-chan."

Asuka cuddled up with Shinji as they ate some of their food. Asuka had to heat it up as it froze in the packs over the course of the day. Rei abstained from eating as it was unnecessary for her. Once they were fed, they slept. Rei mediated but didn't really sleep.

Shinji and Asuka had issues getting rest but their proximity to each other made it a little easier. While they rested, Rei checked over the provisions and saw they still had at least three days worth of supplies left.

* * *

**Sea of Japan, Day 2**

* * *

When daytime finally came, the sky was even darker than it was yesterday. Snow continued to fall and the wind continued to blow. Shinji sensed the weather and found it would be like this all day. Not good traveling weather at all, but no choice in the matter. Their supplies wouldn't last forever.

They continued their trek and Shinji noticed there were deviations in direction. Rei had turned them a few times in a gradual manner, but even Shinji could tell based on how the wind was hitting his face.

"Something wrong?" he called out to her.

"No," Rei replied. "But there are areas of thinner ice ahead. I still don't think whatever is following us can break though it but its best not to take chances."

"It's still following us?" Asuka asked rhetorically.

"It is likely to continue to do so."

Silence befell the group as the reality of that sunk in. Whatever this thing was, it was after them directly, and it was patient. By midday, Rei was certain they had passed the halfway point of the trek across the ice.

After eating and resting up, they continued across the bleak landscape until there was virtually no light left. Rei quickly erected a shelter and the nightly ritual of eat, talk, sleep was repeated from the previous night.

* * *

**Sea of Japan, Day 3**

* * *

It was obvious to Rei by the time day three had arrived that Shinji and Asuka were beyond afraid now. They stayed in constant physical contact with each other the moment they left the shelter. The snow had stopped completely and no thundersnow was on the horizon, however it was dark as the cloud cover was as thick as it was yesterday. Shinji scanned around and didn't see anything standing out, just an endless sheet of white.

"Rei?"

"If you are going to ask me how much further it is, I can not answer that," she replied. "I do not know the precise distance we have traveled though I have surmised we are at the very least over half way."

"Good," Shinji replied. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. There is nothing out here at all, and provisions are getting low."

They continued wordlessly as the day dragged on. Shinji steadily grew more and more fearful that they would never see land again, and Asuka was not doing much better.

Around midday Rei stopped walking.

"What is it?" Shinji asked.

Rei wordlessly called forth Lancea Longini and held it behind her in a combat stance. Shinji tried to sense out where the thing that was following them was but suddenly realized something even more frightening…

He couldn't sense it anymore.

"Is it close?" Asuka asked with a break in her voice.

"It's closing fast," Rei replied. "But the ice is thick here… it shouldn't be able to…"

Suddenly, the ice in front of Rei shattered in an explosive burst as a massive tentacle of some form resembling a massive centipede tore from it. The appendage must have been at least 15' wide and long enough to stretch high into the air.

"Mein Gott!" Asuka cried as she saw it. Then from the left another massive tentacle ripped from the ice, then another behind and to the right. The end of each had four pincers and a massive mouth-like orifice with sharpened teeth pointing inward. It resembled a lamprey mouth to Shinji. Each tentacle had to be over 90' in length, if not much longer. The underside of each was covered in smaller appendages like individual legs on a centipede.

Moments later, more were tearing out of the ice in various places around them totaling 14.

"I think this was a mistake," Shinji said as he saw them.

A massive section of the ice directly ahead, nearly 300 feet across blew up and outward as the main body of the monster finally came up. Human-like arms ending in three clawed hands reached out of the water, though the skin on them was similar to a jellyfish. Two reached out, but more followed until there were 14 such arms. The main body that rose up was almost a mass of bloated blubbery flesh with eyes interspaced around it. Five massive maws opened and shrieked the thing's arrival from what Shinji supposed was the thing's front.

Not even the angels were this hideous and twisted; they were beautiful compared to the madness before them. Its existence seemed to lower what little ambient light was left, as if reality itself was shying from the monstrosity.

"No…" Rei whispered. She knew what this monster was, but she never expected to face it so soon in their quest.

"What the fuck is it?!" Shinji yelled as his mind tried to grasp the sheer scope of what he was seeing. A crushing despair was filling his mind.

"It is a monstrous demon that dominated the oceans during the time when demons and angels fought their great civil war over the planet. A creature of nearly deific power… Dagon."

"_**Pathetic lesser beings," **_it announced, _**"gaze upon me and despair, for I shall devour your souls."**_

"We can't fight it," Rei whispered.

Shinji's terror at seeing the monstrosity was combined with the horror of being lost on an endless sheet of ice and rendered him paralyzed with fear. Asuka's eyes widened in terror as she couldn't even make a sound at the realization of just how doomed they were.

Asuka snapped out of her silence and screamed in horror as one of the five mouths released a mass of writhing smooth tentacles that grabbed her and pulled her towards the monster. Shinji also snapped out of it; the need to save the woman he loved overrode his fear nearly instantly, and as he ran forward, his wings and armor appeared on his body. His talons extended and energized as he rushed in and slashed though the tentacles, freeing Asuka.

Dagon roared his displeasure, and sent one of his massive centipede-like tentacles at him. Shinji scooped her up and got out of the way as the massive jaws of the alien appendage came down on the ice.

Rei steeled her will and rushed in, plunging her lance into the tentacle. The spear bypassed the monster's AT Field and dug deeply into the appendage. It ripped back out of the ice taking Rei with it. As it whipped out trying to shake her off, another attacked Shinji again, this time, Asuka was far enough away that she was safe so Shinji turned back towards it and blocked it by grabbing the side of the orifice with his talons. It scooped him up trying to shake him into the maw but Shinji held fast to the pincer and launched a massive bolt of lightning down it instead. Though the inside of the maw was showing signs of electrical burns, Dagon wasn't fazed overall by the attack due to his sheer size.

Shinji flipped over the pincer and slid down the tentacle rushing towards the main mass of the monster itself, dodging two massive claw swipes from the malformed clawed limbs that could reach. He launched more bolts of lightning into the eyes of the monster he could see from there blinding some but with so many eyes on the monster, it could still see him. One of the many hands managed to back hand him off the tentacle and another tentacle grabbed him.

Shinji felt his skin shredding as he was drawn down the thing's maw, the entire inside of thing was lined with teeth and he couldn't get a grip on the inside. The teeth couldn't penetrate the armored portions but his torso and his upper legs were not protected by armor yet. Instinctively, armor appeared on his thighs but no more. Suddenly, the darkness below him was lit with fire. He slid though the opening past the flames in time to see Asuka rushing forward with her armor active. She had finally shaken herself out of her horror and attacked the thing.

Rei tore out the spear and kicked off the tentacle, as she back flipped her wings tore into existence for the first time. The azure feathers matched her hair except that they seemed to be tipped in transparent crystal or ice, and frozen crystals shaped like feathers burst around them at that moment like lose feathers. As she righted herself in her flip, she gave a single wing beat which propelled her past the two tentacles that tried to grab her out of the air and over top of the creature. She dove down plunging the spear into the top of one of its five mouths. At last Dagon shrieked in pain.

One of it's 14 arms reached up to grab Rei and she responded by firing a spear of ice though the palm of it sending black blood in a massive spurt skyward. She dodged the other, leaving her spear stuck in the mouth and leapt upon the back of the hand. Ice formed into a pair of blades in her hands as the arm rose up, and she swing around to the underside where the vein of a human arm would be. She reversed her grip on the icy blades and sank both into the arm. Rei was nearly sprayed with black blood the instant she did so but managed to stay clear of the spray. With a reverse wing beat she sent herself down tearing the blades over the length of the forearm though muscle and tendons. Her AT Field shielded her from the blood that poured out since the weight of the blood itself would stop her from being able to fly.

Dagon shrieked again and tried to grab her with another hand on that side of her body but she broke off both blades in the arm and flew away back towards the main body.

Asuka flapped her wings hard and got airborne and slashed in the direction of the main body of Dagon sending thin waves of flame like shockwaves towards the body. The burning energy waves tore into the monster burning it and spilling its blood. Three of the 13 still active tentacles flew at her and she dodged the attacks sending blade waves into them as well, slicing through all 15' of flesh to sever them. The burning wounds made it nearly impossible for him to regenerate them quickly.

Shinji at that moment flew towards the mass of blubber at its side as it slid across the ice and raked it with all his strength, tearing open huge fissures and spilling burning black blood onto the ice. Two hands grabbed at him but he flew back with a strong wingbeat throwing more lighting into the appendages. Upon landing back on the ice he slid back about 10 feet before stopping. He crossed his arms in front of him and started charging up an extreme amount of energy.

His pointer and middle finger on each hand pointed out and electrical power crackled at the tips. He drew lines back as he spread his arms out before turning his hands into open upward facing claws. Four spheres of electrical energy formed around him, two above his arms and two below his arms. With a cry of rage he threw his arms forward sending the four spheres into the side of the monster. They exploded tearing away large swaths of flesh and several eyes at the same time.

As this was happening, Rei landed back on the mouth she had pierced before to retrieve her lance. As she landed, a pair of armored high healed boots in an icy design appeared over her feet and knees. The heels drove into the mouth as she ripped the lance back out again. The mouth was nearly dead so she threw her spear into another nearby mouth into the side of the upper half. Dagon shrieked in a combination of rage and pain.

"_**Fools! Do you think you are winning?! I control the oceans itself! And now I tire of this melee."**_

Suddenly the 10 remaining tendrils rose up as water shot into the air from the massive holes made during the combat. Asuka was instantly overtaken by a wave of water that knocked her out of the air and extinguished her flames. She fell into the sea and instantly was brought below the surface by tentacles from an unseen source.

"Asuka!" Shinji yelled as he tried to run for the water, only to get wrapped up in tentacles from two of the remaining three active mouths.

Rei was in a perfect position to case massive damage to Dagon, but Asuka was being dragged deeper into the depths by the moment. She couldn't save Asuka and hurt Dagon at the same time so she grabbed her lance and flew off of him. She dodged the attempts by his hands to grab her out of the air and the tendrils to try to stop her and she dove into the water.

Underwater she saw the tentacles dragging her down and beneath where Dagon was above the ice. But then she realized that the tentacles were not coming from another source but from Dagon himself. The lower half of the nightmare was now visible to her; and like an iceberg, most of Dagon's body was actually below the surface of the water. It was a massive, cone shaped extension of flesh that had to be nearly 500' in length ending in a massive maw that opened circularly with 13 mandibles in a circle around ever deeper spirals of teeth and writing crustacean like legs that undulated in anticipation of its new meal.

Rei froze the water around her into massive spears of ice as Asuka was almost to the opening and then let them go with as much speed as she could. One cut the tentacles allowing her to escape the other prevented the mouth from reaching out to take her anyway by piercing the inside of it causing it to roar in pain instead of inhale pushing her further away. Rei got a hold of Asuka and swam upwards.

Shinji tore the tentacles from his body and sent a massive lightning bolt into one of the mouths that sent it causing severe damage. With a roar, the creature finally started backing off as that hit came at the same time its mouth below the waves was speared though.

"_**Don't think that you have won," **_it roared. _**"The sea is forever my domain, and it will claim you eventually."**_

As Rei burst though the surface of the water, Asuka opened her wings again and flew above Dagon as it was trying to slide its upper body off of the ice sheet and back into the water. She put her hands together summoning her inner flames.

"Something to remember me by," she quipped and launched a searing beam of energy that was pure white from its heat. It punched though the creature's body causing massive damage, but it wasn't enough to kill it. It did however roar in pain as it finally pushed itself beneath the waves. The remaining tentacles dragged under the sea with it.

As the water finally calmed Asuka and Rei both landed. Their wings had reached the end of their stamina causing both girls to stretch their backs as they tried to keep the muscles from tightening up. Shinji put away his wings and immediately moved to try to rub their backs and keep them from seizing up.

Asuka let out a sigh of relief. "That thing was insane," she said.

"It was having issues dealing with the ice," Rei replied. "If it was in open water, our battle would have been impossible. It underestimated us, and it was at a disadvantage. I doubt if we went another round with it over open water that we would fair as well."

Shinji looked at his clothing which was mostly shredded by the teeth of one of the tentacles then noticed that Asuka's clothing was starting to freeze up from the water.

"We need shelter," Shinji noted. The children quickly moved to where the ice was stable and solid and Rei created the shelter. Inside, Asuka used her powers to dry the water out of her cloths as Shinji did what he could to mend his.

"You finally got your wings Wondergirl," Asuka said. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," she replied with a small smile. "I am beginning to catch up I think."

"I noticed," Shinji replied. "I managed to see the boots before they went away. Funny, Asuka and I started with gauntlets and weapons first."

Rei shrugged. "Boots were what I needed right then, so I am unable to raise a complaint."

"How long do we have?" Asuka asked.

"We'll camp here for the night," Rei replied. "We can rest up, Dagon's sheer size means it will take him a measure of time to regenerate his wounds. We'll be off of the Sea of Japan by then and out of his reach until it comes time to cross the Mediterranean Sea."

"Not looking forward to round two," Shinji replied. "That thing was weird, but how come I couldn't move when I saw it?"

"That is one of its powers," Rei replied. "The creature has an aura that makes you feel helpless. When it attacked Asuka, your love for her helped break its spell, and when you were in trouble, Asuka was likewise able to act. I was able to act as soon as you did."

"Why?"

"Because I know that if I follow you into battle, we can survive… no matter what the foe."

Shinji smiled at her. "Thanks Rei, for believing in me."

"No need to thank me onii-san, I will always trust in you."

The night passed by as the children ate and rested the remainder of the day.

* * *

**Sea of Japan, Day 4**

* * *

Because of the battle the previous day, the children ran though more of their supplies then they thought they would. Luckily, by midday, they reached the shore of South Korea. Shinji kicked one of the signs on the docks and knocked the ice free of it, though the writing was alien to him.

"Too bad none of us read Korean," he said sourly.

"Busan Fish Market," Asuka announced. Both Rei and Shinji looked at her surprised.

"How do you know Korean?" he asked.

"I don't know… the writing makes sense to me," she replied.

"That is ironic," Rei pointed out. "As I recall, you were having issues with kanji." She made some marks in the snow. "Can you read this?"

"Fortune," Asuka said with confidence after looking at it only a moment.

"What language is that?" Shinji asked Rei.

"Portuguese," she replied. "The only reason I know that word is because I stumbled upon it while doing research when I was nine. I have a photographic memory so I always retained that. Asuka however appears to be a polyglot, in so far as writing is concerned."

"Useful," Asuka commented. "So we're in Busan like we planned."

"We'll stay here tonight," Shinji said. "There aren't any demons about are there?"

Rei shook her head. "Oddly enough," she said.

"There should still be supplies here. We'll restock before leaving tomorrow morning. It's gonna snow pretty hard tonight so let's find some shelter that isn't one of Rei's igloos."

Rei smirked at that.

* * *

_We slept well that night, no longer bothered by the endless expanses of empty ice, or the prospect of fighting some ancient horror. The fact that something like Dagon could exist made my mind reel. What other epic monsters could exist in the armies of the demonic legions. I began to wonder if the angels we fought during the war were similar in scope and power. It was hard to gauge that by our size compared to it. It would have easily dwarfed the EVAs, but we've been able to kill things that dwarfed us before. Admittedly, we made that fight look easy, but two of us were put in situations that we almost died in._

_Busan had no demons in it at all and we were glad of that. After our battle with Dagon, we were in no mood for another round. Once we gathered the supplies and rested up, we grabbed another map and started planning our next moves. From here we would travel north to Daegu, to Daejeon, and into Seoul. From there we would cross into North Korea near Kaesong._

_But we had a long trek ahead of us. The South Korean lowlands were more dangerous than any city we traveled though in Japan…_

_Shinji Ikari_

_January 5th, 2018_

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**

* * *

_I will deny you; this world belongs to me,_

_You try and fake it but all wound are there to see…_

* * *

**A/N: **I started Act II with a bang; the first epic battle against Dagon, with the promise of another in the future.

That should be fun to write!

**jtdarkman:** Welcome to the party. While the idea of Envoys was not directly taken from Yu-Gi-Oh, I realized what I had done when I added the concept to this story. I was wondering if anyone was going to make that reference. Congrats on being the first.

For the most part, I only write crack-fics (though Trading Places isn't actually crack-fic territory but whatever) but I like to try to keep an anime feel to them in terms of action, or at least comic-bookish in the case of Tempest Aterna. It's far more entertaining that way.

And Dark Temptation was hard to write actually, but I'm glad it came out as well as it did. Not many authors seem to want to bridge the ideal that succubae (and what I created as Pain Maidens) convey in a story. People shy away from scenes of rape and sexual assault, but they are a part of the monster that is humanity in as much as it would pertain to something as perverse as a demon (or daemon). Though its never conveyed in NGE, its subtly implied that Gendo mistreated Rei "that way" without ever confirming it. Not that Gendo Ikari needed to be any more of a twisted and sick fuck.

**Ethan (Guest): **Would like a few clarifications. Are you seeing these errors just in chapter 7 or all over the story? I can go back and correct them at some point. I'm not perfect and I don't have a beta.

Thanks again for the reviews. Please remember to review if you'd like recognition, I try to recognize everyone who leaves a thoughtful review (in other words something more than "awesome keep it up").


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